Pride Of A Hero
by PlutonBlack
Summary: Ben's arrogance has gone too far. His friends want nothing to do with him. He's depressed, and dosn't know what to do. How can he fix himself if he's on a solo assignment to find an illegal alien in Jump City? Leave it to Starfire to befriend anyone. "Will continue this summer. This story is not dead."
1. Chapter 1

**Pride of a Hero**

A/N:

Another day, another story I always say. I have plenty of great ideas for stories, but if I don't act on them quickly my inspiration fades. I know I have two unfinished stories, but I've wanted to write something like this for quite a while. Ben is one of my favorite cartoon characters, and it's about time someone wrote a story that shows that admirable side of him we saw in AF. I own nothing but the plot, which I probably based on something I can't remember.

It was a warm Saturday afternoon. Summer was coming to a close and everyone was throwing out their last minute parties before going back into boring old school mode. Most people were on dates, at the arcade, or the movies. Not Ben Tennyson. He was at his once favorite restaurant _Mr. Smoothy _drinking a smoothie made of God knows what, thinking over his recent accomplishments. He wasn't particularly proud of them to say the least. He slumped sadly in the near empty parking lot on a bench, slurping as his mind drifted back to the last few days.

His arrogance had gotten the best of him. Gwen had finally decided that glaring and lecturing him was getting old and slapped him hard, right across the face. It wasn't like he didn't deserve it. It was only meant to be a joke. Of course when she and Kevin sped off in the car without him and stopped returning his calls, he'd figured it out. Calling someone a sidekick on T.V. wasn't funny. He'd only been grateful that she'd slapped him after the cameras turned off.

Of course Gwen had to tell Julie. As if he didn't have enough problems in his relationship. That's what happens when your teammate is best friends with your girlfriend. Not to mention that even Cooper refused to talk to him.

So basically, a slip of the tongue combined with Ben's ever growing ego, lead to him having no friends at this point in time. He couldn't even call to say he was sorry, and wouldn't dare approach their homes this early in the conflict.

He sighed, and took a long slurp from his smoothie while staring at the falling sun. 'This royally sucks.' He thought to himself. 'One minute I'm on top of the world and then…' He remembered something from his past. A similar issue he had with Gwen when he was a kid. The real reason he stopped wearing the Omnitrix.

It made him think he was invincible.

Which he defiantly wasn't. He'd be dead if it weren't for Gwen, Kevin, and even Julie. This is what he thought about before a man in a trench coat stepped in front of him, blocking his light.

"What's up Ben? You look depressed." Ben looked up to see the man was in fact, his grandfather. One of the greatest Plumbers in Milky Way history. "I tried calling you, but you wouldn't answer.

Ben forced a smile. "Yeah I must have left it in the car.

His Grandpa raised an eyebrow. "For 4 hours, is that how long you've been sitting here?"

Ben looked down at his feet. "Yeah, I haven't been doing much lately Grandpa Max. I'm just thinking about some things."

"Like what you said on the news last week?"

…"Yeah that."

Max sat down next to Ben on the bench and sighed. "You know you brought this on yourself. You can't be upset with your friends for not wanting to speak with you."

"I know. This whole thing is my fault." Ben put his chin on his hand. "I didn't mean for it to sound the way it did. I didn't even realize how bad it sounded till it left my mouth."

Max nodded. "The tongue is a powerful tool Ben. It can build confidence, break spirits, and lead nations, but it can't take back anything." Max's face went from serious to slightly sad. "I lost a lot of friends that way when I became a Plumber Ben, I don't want you to make the same mistakes."

Ben nodded slowly, and Max put a hand on his shoulder. "You need something to occupy your time other than sitting around all day. I've got an important job for you Ben."

Ben allowed a small grin onto his face. 'Typical, he wants me to take my mind off of work by working.' "Sure Grandpa, what do you need?"

Max reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a holo-disk, similar to the one he recorded his messages on. He pushed a button on the side, and an image of a young teenaged, orange skinned girl with red hair and bright green eyes appeared. She was wearing a rather small purple shirt that showed off her mid-drift with a matching purple skirt and long boots.

"Um…wow."

"Have you ever heard of a super hero group called the Teen Titans? They operate up in Jump City, further up the coast."

Ben paused and thought for a moment. 'Teen Titans…' "Yeah I've heard of them. They formed around the same time our team did. Nobody is sure who most of them are but their leader Robin used to be Batman's sidekick and then went solo for a while. I know Beast Boy was a part of the old superhero group the 'Doom Patrol' for about a year, but I don't know much about the other three." Ben finished. In truth he didn't know much about them at all. He'd never batted an eyelash at them. They were superheroes like him, why worry about them?

"I assume you know Starfire then?"

"I know who she is if that's what you're asking." Ben said.

Max shut the picture off and put it back in his trench coat pocket. "Well the Plumbers have reason to believe she is in fact, an alien called a tameranian, from the planet Tameran."

Ben's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yes, and we can also tie her back to the Gordanian invasion over Jump City, which we assume the Titans stopped. That was the year we fought the Highbreed."

"Yeah I remember that. What is it you want me to do exactly?"

Max stood up and faced Ben. "I need you to go to Jump City and find out if this girl is a Tameranian or not. If she is, she's and she doesn't have a license to be here than you'll have to place her under arrest."

Ben's eyes widened. "What! You want me to arrest a fellow super hero? Over something stupid like that? That's just-"

"That's why I'm sending you Ben. You're not a traditional superhero you're a Plumber, and a Majestar at that." Max crossed his arms and looked at Ben seriously. "You're the only one I can trust to handle this mission delicately. I know _you'll _do the right thing and straighten this out before the higher ups try to take this into their own hands."

"What makes you say that?"

"I know what kind of person you are Ben. You're not blinded by prejudice or racial superiority like most races in the galaxy are towards Tameranians. That's why I wasn't you to do this."

Ben sighed and nodded. "But why would the Tameranians be discriminated against? They look just like humans…right."

"That, next to the fact that they were once a very war like race that had a hand in destroying dozens of other species, in the Milky Way wars. They're self sustaining and can fly at the speed of light in space, no ships or tech involved. They're super durable and have super strength. They're no joke."

"So it's because everyone's afraid of them?"

"And wouldn't waste a chance to put one in prison for exaggerated crimes. Her sister' already doing more time than necessary."

Ben stood up and threw his empty cup in a nearby trashcan. "Sister?"

"Blackfire, she was a thief and an arms dealer, and if she hadn't been arrested by her own people, she'd be doing life." Said Max with a frown.

Ben looked down at his feet, his eyebrows scrunched together in thought. 'I could use a good solo mission, and I would like to handle this myself. Even though Gwen's better with diplomacy and Kevin with legal stuff.' His eyes grew sad at the thought. 'Should I really do this myself?'

Max looked at Ben with an encouraging grin. "Well? He asked, what'll it be Majestar Tennyson?"

The next morning:

Starfire walked through the doors of the living room in Titan's Tower, smiling with her seemingly never ending joy. "Good morning friends!" She sang.

Cyborg, her tall, half robot friend removed his upper body from the refrigerator, holding a large ham. "Oh hey Star how you doin?" He said pulling some spices from the cabinet.

"Just fantastic! And how are you doing?"

"Just makin' breakfast, and with BB sucked into his new game there will be **no tofu today!**" He stated with excitement. If there was one thing Cyborg hated more than anything else in the world, it was a vegetarian breakfast. Brother Blood had _nothing _on tofu.

At that moment a short figure in an indigo cloak with violet eyes and hair floated past Starfire with a book open in front of her face.

"Good morning friend Raven, how are you?"

"Hey Star." Said Raven quietly as she floated past.

…

"You know Raven." Said Cyborg. "Once she gets into those books you might as well tell _it _good morning."

Starfire nodded her mood undisturbed. She didn't expect a huge greeting from Raven, that's just how she was. "Where is Robin?" She asked excitedly. Even for her, she was strangely giddy.

"I think he's-"

"SHHH! I'm on the boss level!" Yelled Beast Boy. He was sitting on the sofa playing 'Sumo-Slammers: Rise of Aokuma' on his Game-Station XLK. "If I don't have total concentration I'll-"

"Hello Beast Boy!" said Starfire as she floated over to the sofa and gripped him in a tight hug, causing him to drop his controller.

"Star no!" He cried, but his desperate plea fell on deaf ears as she continued to hug him.

"What's got you so happy?" Asked Cyborg as he started slicing his ham. "Is it another Tameranian holiday?"

"Nope! I just woke up feeling so refreshed and happy. I feel like today will be a great day!"

"Don't get your hopes to high Starfire." Said Raven. "No offence, but you remember the last time that happened, don't you?"

"That was different." Said Starfire, undisturbed. "Today will be great."

"It might be better if Beast Boy is still in one piece afterward." Said Cyborg.

"Hm?" Starfire looked down to see she was still holding Beast Boy in a death squeeze and he was gasping for air. "Oh, sorry Beast Boy." She said as she dropped him onto the sofa.

**GAAASP! **Beast Boy gripped his heart and struggled to regain control of his breathing. "What…gasp….is…up with…gasp…you?" His eyes filled with tears as he saw he had lost his last life on the boss battle he was playing. 'Dang it!'

"Well Starfire, why don't you pull up a chair and help me eat this-"

**WHOOPWHOOPWHOOPWHOOP!**

"Aw man!" Cried Cyborg. "I haven't eaten yet!"

The door to the living room flew open as Robin sprinted through. "Let's go guys! No time to waste."

"Good mor-"

"Let's _go _Starfire." Said Raven as she grabbed Starfire's wrist. "We can say our hellos later."

"Oh-okay." Said Starfire as she flew behind.

On the sofa, Beast Boy continued to weep over his lost game. 'Why? What did I do to deserve this?' "WHY!"

Cyborg wrapped a huge hand around Beast Boy's head and lifted him from his puddle of tears.

"We don't have time for this man, just come on!"

With that, the Titans ran from their Tower to the bunker below the island.

A/N: Well? Do you like it, do you hate it? Does it need work? Well it is a short story after all, but no matter. Should I make this a pairing? After all, who hasn't pictured this at least once in a crossover. It will defiantly be a friendship story though. Ben is certainly about to have his hands full with Plumber paperwork, and Star's day may or may not be as good as she thinks. I suppose that's up to Ben. Please review my story. I won't be upset if you don't, but I'd love it if you did. Just please don't flame. All flamers do is fill my review box with rudeness and crap, _and _crap!

And I haven't given up on my other stories; I'm just taking a break from them.

If you like this story, you should check out my other stories by clicking my profile. I like knowing people like my writing.

Well, PLUTON BLACK is out ya'll.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pride of a Hero**

A/N:

Well, here's the next chapter of this somewhat cute little story. Since barley anyone read it I'll be posting this new chapter right away, hopefully it won't be at 11 o'clock this time, so people see it before it goes to the bottom of the list. Now it gets to the good part, the part where Ben meets the Titans. This story is actually a free write, so don't expect an over complicated plot.

Ben sat back in the pilot seat of the Rust-Bucket III, his mind floating between his current mission, and what he had to go through to get Kevin to let him borrow the "teams" ship. Of course Gwen and Kevin both assumed he was being arrogant about doing this alone. If Max hadn't stepped in… 'Don't think about that kind of stuff Tennyson, focus on the mission. You can think about that later.' Thought Ben to himself as he casually scrolled through the roster of aliens in his Ultimatrix. 'I don't even know how I'm gonna do this. Do I just fly up to their house and say "Hey, I'm Ben, you're under arrest?' that sounded a little ridicules to him, but he guessed it was necessary.

"Now all I have to do is…"

**BEEPBEEPBEEP**

"What the…oh great. Another distraction." Ben said with malice. The ship's police alarm just went off, meaning he had to stop and help in the middle of his mission. Not that he was entirely upset; he wasn't sure how to do it anyway.

'Guess I better put it on auto pilot.' Ben thought as he flipped a few switches on the ships control panel.

_[Auto pilot activated, entering hover mode]_

'Awesome, Now to get down there and see what the big deal is.' Ben rand to the circle in the center of the cockpit and began dialing the Ultimatrix. "Computer, activate drop tube."

_[Activating drop tube]_

The floor where Ben stood opened beneath his feet as he was sent down ward through the pipe and after a few seconds…

Ben was falling hundreds of feet above the surface, plummeting at over 90mph. With a look of fierce determination he slammed his hand on the dial of the Ultimatrix.

_**FLASH!**_

"Big Chill!"

Where there was once a teenage boy there was know a skeletal, blue moth-man with green insect like eyes.

'Alright, let's get this over with.' Big Chill flapped his wins and spiraled down through the sky before steadying into a glide. 'This should be easy enough to find. In a place like jump city it'll probably be some super villain.' "It's hero time!"

Starfire flew above the city streets alongside Raven and Beast Boy (who was currently in the form of a green Pterosaur). Although her day had started out incredibly normal, the Titans were forced into action before she could even have breakfast. Cyborg was particularly cranky over this fact. And Robin was…well he was being pretty typical. He seemed so concerned with this sudden interference. Most of the villains they'd faced were in prison after the defeat of the Brotherhood of evil. Now there was hardly ever anything to worry about except petty crime. Until today…

"What is that?" said Raven, clearly just as surprised as everyone else.

Starfire gasped as she saw what stood over the pile of rubble in the middle of the street. It looked to be some sort of massive frog with four red eyes, black lips, and three horns. "It is appears to be some sort of amphibian, yes?" Asked Starfire. "Although I was not aware that they could grow to such a large size."

Beast Boy swooped down and perch on a street light before changing back to normal. "They don't. Trust me I would know."

Robin and Cyborg pulled into the street on their respective vehicles and stepped out into the field of rubble. "Whatever it is," said Robin. "It caused this, which means we have to take it down."

"Are you sure?" Said Cyborg. "I mean it is just a frog." He scratched his head in confusion. "Just a big, possibly violent frog that we really don't know anything about."

Robin extended his bo-staff from his utility belt as Beast Boy leapt from the light post and morphed into a raptor. "It doesn't matter, right know we-"

"Um Robin?" Said Raven. "I think there's more to this than one big frog."

"Like what Raven?" Asked Starfire.

Cyborg's eyes widened. "Like maybe 6 or 7 big frogs." He said pointing to the other amphibians hopping out of the rubble and allies. Like an Egyptian plague they seemed to crawl from everywhere in the vacant street. "Or 10 or 12 big frogs."

"Uh, dudes, There're bugs above us." Said Beast Boy.

"Not our primary concern Beast Boy." Said Raven through gritted teeth.

"They're bigger than the frogs." As if by magic a swarm of insects the size of biplanes were circling the area like vultures, casting massive shadows over the ground.

…

…

…

"How did we miss that on the way here?" Asked Cyborg.

"BECAUSE IT'S A TRAP FOOLS!" Yelled a voice from the sky. The Titans heads shot up to see what appeared to be a huge green hornet descending over them before landing 20 feet in front of them. On top of the giant insect was a thin man with shoulder length silver hair and yellowish skin. He wore a black hazmat suit and a golden headband with a red jewel in the middle. "I, Dr. Animo, have come to claim the bounty on the head of the one called Starfire!"

"What?"

"Bounty?"

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Yelled Robin as he crouched into fighting position.

"Did you not hear me fool? I am Dr. Animo! The greatest scientific mind the human race has ever known! I, Dr. Animo will destroy you all!"

Cyborg's arm transforms into his signature sonic cannon as he aims at Animo. "What's up with this guy?" He asked no one in particular. "What do you mean bounty?"

"Yes," said Starfire. "What have I done to deserve such a horrible signature?" She asked with concern.

The frogs began to hop around the street, circling the Titans in a ring of green and brown. The Hornets overhead formed a similar ring in the sky above Raven and Starfire. "I don't care why. You can ask the knights when I give them your DISEMBODIED HEAD!"

"_Eep!" _Cried Starfire as she subconsciously put a hand to her neck. "That seems…unnecessary."

"Enough talk!" Yelled Robin. "Titan's go! Take these freaks out!" He charged Dr. Animo and pulled three discs from his belt, before tossing them at the mad scientist.

The hornet seemed to suddenly fade from existence as it buzzed to the side to dodge and appeared above Robin with its stinger lifted. "Too slow boy!" Robin leapt to the side as the 5ft stinger plunged into the ground where he was standing. He swung his rod into the vibrating wings of the beast, but before he could connect a thick hairy leg struck him in the gut, sending him across the road. "Ha! Stupid child! My Hornets are-UHG!" Animo was suddenly cut off when a blast off blue energy hit the abdomen of his mount, causing to hiss in pain.

"You have five opponents Dr. Freakamo." Said Cyborg, his sonic cannon glowing with energy. "Pay attention and maybe you'll make it to your cell in one piece."

"_**RHAAAAW!" **_Before Animo could react, a green gorilla leapt at him from his right with its arms raised to smash. Before Beast Boy struck, another hornet tackled him from the sky and pinned him to the asphalt. It raised its stinger to impale the green ape, which morphed into a grass snake and slithered out of the way and spiraled up the creature's leg. As crawled over the beast's back he morphed into a wholly mammoth and smashed it beneath his massive hide.

Meanwhile, Raven and Starfire began their assault by pelting the vicious insects with a barrage of energy attacks. The beasts were fast and fazed from side to side, Starfire's starbolts only grazed the tough skins of their speedy foes. Raven however…

She summoned a sphere of dark energy over her body as the two creatures dove at her with rears pointed in killing position, their attacks bouncing harmlessly away as they flew off to regain their lost momentum and balance. Raven's head throbbed with the force her telekinetic field had just felt. She wouldn't be able to take much more of those. 'How can I do this without passing out?' She had little time to think as another wasp flew at her from behind and she dove to the right. 'This is getting tricky.' Another one was now coming at her from above and she raised another dome to block it. Before it could strike, a huge ball of green energy blasted it in the side.

Starfire's shot hit home, and the creatures wings were blown off its body causing it to fall to the earth below. "I will not allow you to hurt my friends evil creature." She said with angry glowing eyes.

"Starfire, behind you!"

Starfire spun around in time to catch the spear like legs of the massive hornet just before they pierced her skin. She fired her eye beams into the creatures open mandibles before it could do anything else, causing it to fly backward in pain. "I will not lose to you." She said.

The hornet screeched and prepared to charge again. Just before it shot forward, two massive pieces of concrete coated in black energy smashed it from both sides, killing it instantly.

Starfire spun around to see Rave with her hands extended surrounded by black flowing energy, her eyes glowing white. "You know," said Raven. "These things are pretty easy to kill when they're not all over the place,"

Three more hornets circled Raven and Starfire, causing them to unconsciously fly closer together.

"Raven, I will play the role of offence. Can you protect us?"

"I'll try, but you might wanna do this quick."

On the ground the boys were fairing similarly. Cyborg had discovered that the creatures don't like the sound of his sonic cannon, giving him the roll of main offence in the ground battle.

Beast Boy, who understood the attack patterns of carnivorous insects, was constantly morphing from large too small. He lured them in with his cheetah form, and as the two creatures dove in he'd morphed into a humming bird to dodge easily, leaving an opening for Cyborg to fire his twin sonic cannons.

The two insects were nailed right in the face and blown back several feet, where a rhino slammed horn first into the side of one, leaving the other to crash into a pilled of rubble.

Robin was facing Animo himself, neither opponent able to hit the other. Robin had adapted quickly to the situation and was able to easily predict the Dr.'s movements on his mount. Although it was hard to hit the hornet he flew on at all, given the creature's aerial superiority. Robin was using up a lot of stamina staying ahead of its stinger.

"Hahaha! You can't win that way boy! I, Dr. Animo am the greatest biologist in the world! My creations are perfect."

'Now.' Thought Robin as he pulled a small device from his belt. In an instant he pressed the button on top, releasing a loud, high pitched sonic wave.

Animo's beast screeched and began to stall in the air before dropping. "NO!" cried Animo. "Get up you worthless insect! I am your master! Obey me!" He yelled as he futilely beat the weakening creature on the back.

Robin simply walked forward and stabbed it in the eye with a short sword that extended from his hand, ending its life. "Game over Animo."

"Yeah dude, "said Beast Boy as he and Cyborg walked away from their defeated opponents. "Now we just gotta wait for- _Thump._ The body of another insect hit the ground nearby. The boys looked up to see Raven and Starfire descend over to them.

"Now please," said Starfire. "Explain what you meant before. Why is there a-"I believe," Interrupted Animo. "That you are forgetting about my amphibian friends." He smirked.

The Titans eyes widened. They spun around, prepared to face another onslaught of creatures. They stepped back in surprise as they saw the massive frogs curled up o the ground covered in a layer of frost.

"What!" Cried Animo. "Who did this? What happened to my creations!"

"Any of ya'll know what happened?'" Asked Cyborg. "Cause that wasn't me."

"Me either." Said Beast Boy.

"Obviously." Said Raven. "It couldn't have been any of us. Maybe they're just defective or something."

"No. I don't think so." Robin said as he handcuffed Animo and removed the headband from his head. 'This must be how he controls the creatures.' Thought Robin as he noticed similar devices on the heads of the insects. "But who could have done this while we weren't looking?"

The Titans looked thoughtfully at each other before they felt a sudden drop in temperature.

"Dude, what-"

"That was me, sorry to bother you out of nowhere." Said a low airy voice from behind them. They turned, but saw nothing.

"YOU!" Cried Animo. "I should have known you'd get involved you meddler!"

"Who? What are you nuts?" Said Beast Boy.

"There's someone there." Said Raven. "I can sense you there." She said to the air in front of them.

"My scanners are picking up a super low temperature level shaped like a humanoid right in front of us." Said Cyborg. "So you can stop hiding."

"Who's hiding?" Said the voice. The air in front of them seemed to regain some temperature as a blue and black hooded phantom appeared in front of them. "Not me, I've been here since the fight started."

"Whoa! Dude what are you?" said Beast Boy stepping back. "Some kind of ghost?"

"Maybe. It's hard to tell sometimes." Said the phantom as he lifted his head, giving the Titans a good view of his thin skeletal face and green eyes.

"You've been here the whole time?" Said Robin suspiciously, taking a step forward. "Who are you exactly?" He pointed his staff at the phantom.

Starfire also took a step forward, her face covered in curiosity and recognition. "You are a necrofriggian?" She asked casually, causing the others to stare at her quizzically.

"You know this guy Star?" Asked Cyborg.

"No, but I think I know his species." She replied.

"I'll ask again." Said Robin through gritted teeth. "Who are you? And why are you here?"

The phantom took a step forward, showing no fear of Robin. "For right now you can call me Big Chill, and I am currently a Necrofriggian." He looked over at Starfire as he said this. "And you are Starfire? Right?"

'I probably shouldn't have jumped right into that.' Thought Ben to himself as he saw a look of angry suspicion come over the Titans faces. 'But what's Animo doing here fighting them?'

"How do you know who I am?" Said Starfire. Her face showed just how worried she was about the question. She seemed a little more worried than he'd have thought though. It made him upset about what he'd eventually have to do.

"Let me guess." Said Robin. "You're here about that stupid bounty aren't you?" Ben wasn't really afraid of the guy, but he had this air about him that made you think he could figure you out in seconds, and that was a real liability in this case.

"I don't know about any bounty." Said Big Chill. "But just to be clear," he looked back to Starfire who was backing away. "You're a Tameranian aren't you?" She froze. She seemed genuinely afraid now, like she could fly off at any second but she was frozen by fear.

She nodded slowly. It was killing Ben to see he had this effect on this girl. Was Big Chill really that ugly? "I thought so-"

"What does that have to do with anything!" Yelled Robin. "Explain yourself." He'd clearly noticed the look on Starfire's face and took offence.

"Yeah man," Cyborg's arm transformed again, and he pointed his cannon at Big Chill. "You better start talking quick."

Beast Boy became a T-Rex, and roared. Ben actually found this more impressive than intimidating.

Raven's eyes glowed white as she floated into the air. She also took the time to trap Animo in a mana sphere.

Starfire was still too afraid to move.

This was all that concerned Ben. 'What's wrong with her? Does she know why I'm here? Is she really that afraid of me, I haven't done anything.' He folded his arms. Grandpa must have overestimated her strength if she's afraid of just me.'

"Titans GO!"

'Whoops, waited too long.' Thought Ben as he turned invisible and fazed into the ground.

"Whoa! Where'd he go?"

Said Big Chill came up through the ground behind Starfire, causing her to jump back in surprise. He sighed, and decided to come clean for the sake of this girls sanity. "Look, I don't know what you're so afraid of but," He began to unfold his wings.

"Get away from her!" Yelled Robin who turned back around. The Titans began another attack, when Big Chill unfolded his wings fully, Revealing his thin skeletal body.

"Dude gross! He's naked!"

Big Chill's eye twitched with annoyance before he stepped toward Starfire. "Look." He said.

Starfire began turning as if to run away when Big Chill reached out and grabbed her shoulder. She spun back with glowing hands and leapt back several feet.

"Seek your vengeance elsewhere! I have done nothing to you or your people!" She yelled.

'What?' "That's not why I'm here." He said calmly. 'Apparently this situation was more delicate than I thought.' "This is a very serious issue that needs to be dealt with." He then gestured toward the now exposed symbol on his chest. "Do you know what this is."

Her eye's looked at where he pointed, and widened. She seemed stunned.

The titans were coming at him again. "STOP!" Cried Starfire. "Do not attack this man."

"Why not?" Asked Cyborg.

"He could be working with-"

"No Robin. He is not evil, he bears the galactic symbol of peace." Said Starfire stoically. "He will not harm us." 'I think.'

"So what if he's wearing a peace sign?" Asked Robin. "That doesn't mean-"

"It means," interrupted Starfire. "That he is an officer of the law. Attacking him would be counterproductive."

"So you do know." Said Big Chill. "Good, that makes things much easier. You know about the Plumbers so that makes this easier to explain."

"Plumbers?" Asked Beast Boy.

"So you are in fact a Tameranian?" Asked Big Chill again.

"Y-yes." Said Starfire nervously.

"Do you have a badge like this one?" he said pointing to his chest.

"No officer." Said Starfire. She knew what was happening now.

Robin was getting worried, and angry. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Big Chill ignored him. 'This has to be done quickly.' "Do you have clearance to be on this planet?"

The air grew tense as the situation began to dawn on everyone.

"I…do not." She said sadly.

"I see." Said big Chill in what could be interpreted as sadness, or rather disappointment. "Then you realize that you are, in fact, an illegal immigrant?"

The titan's eye grew wide.

"Whoa whoa!" said Cyborg. "She's what! How can you-"

"Cyborg. Please." Said Starfire as she looked at the ground.

No one said a word.

Big Chill folded his wings back into a cloak. "I'm sorry to say this but," He looked seriously at Starfire who met his gaze.

"Starfire of Tameran, in accordance to galactic code and Plumber regulation 6-B , by order of the Plumbers, you are under arrest."

A/N:

OOH! Cliff hanger. It's okay you can wait, yah ninny. So now the two mains meet and it's not on a very good note is it? The bounty on Starfire is no coincidence, as this story needed a plot. It's not all fluff ya'll. So yeah, I think I'm going to make this a pairing. I think it'll work. You guys should look forward to the next chapter. That's when all the drama starts.

Oh by the way. How was the fight scene? Good? Bad? Meh? Crap? What? Tell me.

Don't forget to review. I won't make you, but you'd be doing me a favor. And it's Free!


	3. Chapter 3

**Pride of A Hero**

A/N: Another glorious day for writing. You know what makes me happy? Someone new actually reviewed my **Universal Heroes **story. Isn't that great? It didn't get many readers, so I sort of lost interest in it. Believe it or not, the next chapter is almost done, just have to finalize and edit. It might be up by next weekend. Anyway, this story seems to be doing well. Make sure you anonymous readers review too, I still like'm.

I do not own Ben 10 or Teen Titans, although if I did I would have made a television crossover mini-series. 7 hour-long episodes, know what I'm say'n!

Starfire stood there, unmoving for what seemed like hours. She stared at the ground in total disbelief. 'Arrested? Me?' She thought. 'I'd never even thought about that. I had no idea Plumber law was in effect on this planet.'

"Hold on," Said Beast Boy. "You mean to tell me that Starfire is an illegal alien? But she didn't even come here on her own."

Cyborg nodded. "That's right. It's not her fault. If you wanna arrest somebody why don't you take care of the people responsible? Like a real crime fighter."

The one called Big Chill sighed. "Look. It's not that simple, alright? I can't just arrest unidentified Gordanians for a crime that they've already paid for." He sighed. "Besides, Starfire had the ability to leave the entire time. She has the power to fly to virtually any planet in this sector without sustenance."

Robin's frown deepened. "Who cares! You no right to do anything to her you freak!" He pulled three more disks from his belt. "I won't let you take her without a fight!"

"Same goes for me." Said Cyborg.

"And me," Said Beast Boy.

"I won't let you take my friend." Said Raven.

Starfire felt like crying. 'Thank you all, but I can't allow you to hurt yourselves for me.' "Stop friends." Everyone looked at Starfire. "I do not wish to cause any more trouble, this man is only doing his job. I will go-"

"No Star." Said Robin. "You don't have to go because you didn't do anything wrong. This Phantom freak show isn't doing anything to you.

Big Chill sighed loudly. "You know," he said. "I'm getting tired of you calling me that. Necrofriggians are a race too. Just like humans. You shouldn't use such derogatory terms on them because of me." Big Chill unfolded his wings again and slapped the symbol on his chest. There was a bright green flash and a loud buzzing sound.

"Dude, what the heck is he doing?"

"Titans, get ready for-"

In Big Chill's place there was now a human teenager with brown hair and lightly tanned skin. He had very bright green eyes, like Big Chill's, and he was wearing a type of white armor. (A/N: its plumber armor, I know he's supposed to turn back in his normal clothes, but this is cooler. So let's just say he fixed it.). He was a little bit taller than Robin, but through his armor it was clear he wasn't quite as well defined.

"I should probably introduce myself properly." Said the teen. "My name is Magister Ben Tennyson of the Plumbers."

The Titans were shocked to say the least.

"Wait." Said Starfire. "You are not a Necrofriggian then?" She said actually looking somewhat relieved. "You are human?"

Surprisingly, Ben smiled softly, and rather warmly. "Yes, I am. I have a pretty unique power, but I won't get into that now." His face then grew rather sad. "Look, I can see you're all rather confused so I'll explain this; the best way I can." He looked directly at Robin as he said this. "The Plumbers are an Inter Galactic law enforcement group that uphold the Galactic code. The rules of the Milky Way Galaxy." He said. "They operate like the military, but the program is set up like a police force. Every civilized planet in the Milky Way follows these laws. If they don't, they're either cut off from the whole, or, depending on their individual actions, put in prison."

"And that's what you are going to do to me?" Asked Starfire worriedly.

Ben shook his head. 'Not if I can help it.' "Fist you'll have to attend your trial."

"TRIAL!" Exclaimed all of the Titans(minus Raven who said it quietly).

"Yes. The Plumbers have already been notified of the situation. Since I'm Magister of Earth, I was told to handle it directly." Said Ben.

"What exactly is a Magister?" Asked Raven, who decided to collect as much information as possible.

"For lack of better terms, I'm like Earth's sheriff." Said Ben casually.

"I don't buy it." Said Robin in his calm suspicious voice. "How does a Teenager become a sheriff of an entire planet? I'm sure the Justice League must know about this right?"

"Not yet they don't." Said Ben, Meeting Robin's glare. "The situation hasn't come up for them to know."

"Why decide to do your job now?" Said Cyborg. "Where were you when the Brotherhood of Evil were kidnapping our friends?"

"Yeah," Said Beast Boy. "The Justice League were fighting in space. Since you don't know them, where were you?"

"Fighting an evil narcissistic d-bag from space who made a living off kidnapping innocent denizens of various planets to feed his hunger for power and out of control god complex. After that I had to immediately fight my temporarily insane best friend as he went on a rampage killing anyone who ever did him wrong. It was a busy few months." Replied Ben without hesitation. There was a reason he'd spent all night studying this case. As Brainstorm of course.

"Okay well...If there's a trial." Said Robin. "Then we wanna be there to defend her case."

Ben scratched his head nervously. 'Should've known he'd catch that. Gotta stay professional.' "I can't let you do that."

"Why not?" Asked Starfire. "They are my friends they deserve to come. Who else will support me?" She said on the verge of panic. "I need them."

'Don't cry Ben, don't cry…' "I'm really sorry but they're from Earth. They're not allowed to get involved in this because they hold no rights outside of the planet."

"Oh."

Robin was having none of this. He walked right up to Ben and looked him right in the eye. Ben looked noticeably uncomfortable with this action. "Make an exception." He said with obvious killer intent. "You will take us with you, and you will allow us in the trial."

"No. I won't." Said Ben. "I can't, I'm under law too." He pushed Robin away from him slightly, only for Robin to grab his wrist and twist it. Ben flinched.

"That wasn't a question." Said Robin. He thought he had the upper hand until- "GAAAAH!" A surge of electrical energy shot through his body. Just then Ben punched Robin in the gut with another electrically charged glove, shooting him backward.

"I don't take orders from you." Said Ben as he rubbed his wrist. "I still take orders from _my _mentor."

Robin jumped back up, hold his hand over his stomach, the other Titans ready to attack on his order.

"Titans-"

Ben put a hand over the Ultimatrix.

"Go!

There was a green flash as Ben slapped his left wrist. "RATH!" Roared a 9ft muscular tiger-man He had no tail, or visible ears, but he did have a black claw extending from his wrist on either hand. "Let me tell you something Teen Titans! Nobodies goin' nowhere except Rath! All the rest o'you can just…..go…somewhere else."

"That made no sense." Said Cyborg.

"I KNOW!" Yelled Rath as he leapt high into the air over their heads. 'Stupid Ultimatrix, I wanted Swamp Fire.'

The Titans leapt out of the way as Rath's clawed hand slammed into the ground where they once stood, sending a massive shock wave through the ground that through Robin and Cyborg off their feet.

Rath immediately leaned back and roared. A massive sound wave shattered the glass in every nearby building and vehicle. "Alright, who's first?"

"That'd be me." Said Beast Boy as he morphed into a t-rex and cried out his own roar. He charged Rath, head on with his mouth wide open. Rath didn't flinch a muscle.

He caught the open jaws of the t-rex with both hands and twisted his head until his whole body fell to the side.

Without wasting a beat Beast Boy morphed again into his Beast form, the wolf-man one for emergencies only. He supposed this counted. He flipped up and swiped a clawed hand at Rath, who leapt back and then suddenly sprang forward and tackled Beast Boy.

Rath pinned Beast Boy to the pavement and buckled his arms behind his back. He then grabbed the Beast's face and slammed it into the ground twice before picking him up by his head and throwing him into an advancing Robin.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT BEAST BOY? I'M GONNA START CALLING YOU BEAST _BABY _IF THAT'S ALL YOU GOT!" Rath taunted. His mocking was cut short when a blue beam hit him directly in the face.

"Got'm," Said Cyborg, with his sonic cannon still glowing. "You think you're so tuff? Why should we be scared of you?"

When the smoke cleared, Rath was standing there. He was totally unmoved…and unharmed. He also looked really pissed. "You wanna know why pipsqueak? I'LL SHOW YOU WHY!" Rath sprinted on all fours directly at Cyborg.

"Whoa, what-" Cyborg had no time to react before he was hit by an uppercut from Rath and sent 20ft into the air. During his assent Rath leapt up and wrapped his arms around him from behind.

"POLARUS PILEDRIVER!" Rath leaned back and let his and Cyborg's heads crash into the ground. Rath's durability saved him from injury, Cyborg was out cold. "Whatcha gonna do now tough guy! Are you scared yet!" Screamed Rath into Cyborg's unconscious face.

"**Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"**

Rath was suddenly flung back by a massive burst of dark energy that dragged him down the street. "WHAT THE HEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

Raven floated next to the mana bubble that held Dr. Animo with her arm outstretched, her eyes glowing white. "Normally I wouldn't even be involved in a fight like this, but I can see you're willing to kill." She said as the glow died down. "I can't allow you to do that to my friends."

"Good job Raven." Said Robin. "Now we can-"

"What is wrong with you?" She said with a tint of anger.

"What?" Said Robin, somewhat shocked at Raven's change in tone.

"Starfire just said that this guy was an officer of the law. He clearly had a right to do what he did, and in hindsight, attacking the guy who's in charge of bringing our friend home safely is a pretty stupid idea." She said. "What are you going to do if he reports you and they put you in jail?"

"I'm not letting him take Star away." He replied plainly. "Nobody is separating my team."

"Don't you mean _our _family?"

Robin looked away.

"Don't try to act all professional around me. I know you're worried about her safety, but maybe we should just hope for the best."

"Yes Robin." Said Starfire, who'd been mostly quiet until now. "I want to stay, but I must follow the law, and I do not think that this is helping at all."

Robin was quiet. "Star I-"

"Dudes he's coming back!" Yelled Beast Boy. "Robin what do we-"

"Stand down." He said.

"WHAT!" Yelled Beast Boy. "Are you kidding? Look what happen to Cyborg. He'll tear us apart!"

"No, he won't." Said Raven, reaching out to Rath with her empathy, which was sure to give her a headache. "His killing intent has left. He's still pretty ticked off though."

Rath bounded back up the street and after a 50ft leap he landed 5ft in front of Robin. He walked up to the boy wonder and looked down directly at him.

"We're done." Said Robin plainly. "We won't fight you anymore."

Rath surprisingly said nothing as he stared down at him. He was suddenly incased in a bright green light, and shrank until he was a human once again. "Good to hear." Said Ben, his face blank. He stepped around Robin and walked over to Starfire. Who was still looking rather sad. "Are you ready?" He asked her.

She nodded.

"Just bring her back safely." Robin demanded. "And this isn't over."

Ben simply nodded once and returned his attention to Starfire. He reached into a pocket on his suit. "Please turn around and put your hands behind your back." He said pulling out a pair of golden bracelets.

Starfire did as she was instructed. Ben placed the bracelets on her arms. As he did they glowed with spherical blue energy and stuck together like magnets.

"Alright, let's get going. The neural inhibitors will prevent you from using your powers, and pulling on them too hard will release a neural shock that will knock you out." He stated blandly. 'I rely don't wanna do this.'

"Goodbye friends." Said Starfire as positively as she could. "I will be back soon and everything will be fine." The words sounded forced, but convincing none the less.

'Don't cry Ben, don't cry…seriously, don't cry.' Ben thought to himself as he forced back a tear. 'What's wrong with me today?'

Just as he was thinking this a huge green meta-jet floated from the sky and landed in the middle of the street. The hatch at the bottom opened and leads up to the inside of the ship.

"Let's get going." Said Ben.

They walked slowly away from the group, with Starfire looking back over and over, and Ben not turning back once. As they reached the ship and walked up the ramp Ben silently whispered. "I'll have you back here before you know it."

Starfire seemed somewhat surprised. As they entered the ship the hatch closed behind them, cutting them off from the Titans.

"I'm sorry about fighting your friends" said Ben as he led her down a hallway. "And for putting you through all this. I know you're a hero, you deserve better."

Starfire said nothing. She looked at the floor.

Ben led her into the cockpit of the ship. "You'll be riding up here."

"Did you mean that?" Asked Starfire quietly.

"What?"

"About bringing me back. Did you mean that?"

Ben looked over at her sympathetically. "You have friends who are willing to do anything for you, and you've help save the world on several occasions. I wouldn't take that away from you." He looked Starfire in the eyes. "I'm going to do everything in my power to bring you back home as soon as possible."

She stared at him for a few long seconds, before smiling softly. "Thank you."

As the ship lifted off, Robin looked up as it disappeared into the sky. He meant what he said. This wasn't over. Something weird was going on and he was gonna get to the bottom of it. "Come on team, let's go back to the tower, we've got work to do."

A/N: Well that's that. Here's your special labor-day chapter. So how'd you like it? I know I didn't really answer the whole question of Starfire's bounty, but that's for later. Next chapter in the trial, where we find out more about Starfire than we thought we knew. And were Ben puts his career on the line to help her.

Robin also takes this time to learn as much about Ben as he can. And his search leads him to two suspicious words. Kevin Levin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Pride of a Hero**

A/N: Here we are again. So many good reviews, and so quickly! As I'm sure you're all aware of, now it's time to get down to brass tacks (that's how you use that fraise right?) and get this plot on the road. No longer will you wonder just what's going to happen between Kevin and the Titans. It is here you will see what Ben will be dealing with to get Starfire home. If any of you thought I made Robin look a little OOC last chapter, he won't be like that forever, he just cares a lot.

I don't own Ben 10 or Teen Titans. So **STEP OFF! STEP OFF! **(Rigby voice)

I don't own that either.

Starfire sat in the co-pilot seat off the rust bucket III, her eyes still locked onto Ben. She had so many questions that didn't have any answers. Who was Ben, really? Why did he remove her handcuffs after sitting her down? How did he become a Necrofriggian and an Appelplexian? It didn't make sense. "Magister?" she asked softly.

Ben turned slightly from in his seat to see her better. "Yes?"

"I have a question I would like to ask you, if that is alright?"

Ben just smiled slightly. "What's on your mind?"

She shuffled a little in her seat, and looked away from him. "I…well…"

'She probably wants to know why I arrested her today of all days.'

"How exactly did you…transform earlier?" she said finally. "At first a was somewhat frightened that you were a Necrofriggian, but then when you changed twice more…"

Ben's eyebrows rose a little. "That's what's been bothering you?" She'd been shuffling in her seat staring at his back for like an hour. "That's why you've been staring at me?"

She seemed extremely embarrassed that he'd known she'd been staring but she answered anyway. "Y-yes, you see I have never seen such accurate shape shifting before, and I just could not figure it out. There are many species that change form, but not so much that they have such potent power. What are you really?"

Ben scratched the back of his head. "Um, I'm human. I looked like I was a Necrofriggian because I actually became one."

She looked even more confused.

"It's this device on my wrist see?" He said turning to face her. He held out his left arm and pointed at the ultimarix. "It's called the Ultimatrix."

She leaned towards the device with curiosity until her face was about ten inches from the dial, making Ben slightly uncomfortable. "What does it do exactly?"

"Well basically," said Ben scratching his head, "It allows me to transform into over one million different sentient life forms, and a few non-sentient ones."

Starfire's eyes widened comically. "Amazing! You are like a Golampor!"

'A what?' "Um, thank you?" Said Ben cautiously. 'God knows what that is.' "Wait don't-"

Too late. Starfire reached out a curious finger and gently tapped the surface of the dial. A bright flash of yellow emitted from the Ultimatrix as a beam of light covered Starfire's body. "_Eep!"_

_{Life-form DNA successfully copied. Sample: Tameranian now available in transformation library.}_

…"Um, I probably should have told you not to touch that." Said Ben.

"Why?"Asked Star, still feeling a little violated by the scanner. "What happened?"

"Well, by touching it, you unlocked the tameranian transformation in my Ultimatrix, and it's set to your DNA."

Her face went blank. "You will…turn into me?"

"Um, technically a male clone of you." He said sheepishly. God this was awkward. "Yeah, that's why I didn't want you to touch it."

"Oh. Well I don't really mind, I assumed I was in trouble." She said looking away shyly. "Am I?"

Ben's heart broke. 'What is up with this girl? It's like an orphan movie or something!' "No way Starfire." He said putting up his hands in defense. "I was just afraid I'd offended _you._ Because of the scan thing."

"Oh no it's fine." She said brightly. Serious emotional flip flop. "I don't mind at all. You will likely not want to become a Tameranian anyway."

This caused Ben to frown deeply. "What do you mean by that?" He asked darkly.

She stiffened with confusion. "Um…I…"

"What makes you think I wouldn't want to?"

"It's just…" She fidgeted again. "Nobody really cares to be _around _Tameranians, so I just assumed-"

"Don't assume anything about me." He said with a scowl. "I have no prejudice against Tameranians." His face softened dramatically. "Honestly, I would have actually liked to meet you and the Titans under better circumstances." He then turned back to the front of the cockpit.

Starfire (after getting over her shock of seeing Ben angry) looked at him sympathetically. "I apologize, Magister. I did not mean to offend you."

Ben sighed. "Don't worry about it. Sorry about the attitude. I just really don't want to do this." He said without turning around.

Starfire smiled slightly to herself. "Maybe, when this is over, we could start over." She said happily. "And then we could meet as friends!"

Ben winced, and noticeably so. "I…"

Starfire began to deflate. "You…do not want to be friends?" She asked with sadness.

"I'm not exactly what you would call a good friend Starfire. I'm not sure you would want me as a friend."

Starfire looked absolutely shocked. She found that incredibly hard to believe. From what she saw, Ben was behaving very much like a friend.

"Magister Tennyson? Is something else upsetting you?"

Ben said nothing.

Cyborg drove through the unfamiliar town with a totally blank face. Sometimes this hero thing really had its ups and downs. Right now he was cruising through some quiet little town called Bellwood with Robin in the passenger seat, and barely any idea of what he was doing. Robin had barely given him any info on this "mission." "So Rob," He said casually. "What exactly did you find out about this place that made you so determined to come here?"

"Easy," he said with hidden malice. "It's that Tennyson guy's home town. Apparently he and his group operate in this area." He put a hand to his chin. "From what I could gather, he is mostly seen by the majority of the populace as a menace to the city, which leads me to believe he might not always go by the law. Not to mention he's been recorded attacking reporters who approach his home, destroying city property, and invading government military areas."

Raven, casually reading in the back with Beast Boy, was listening intently. "Did you find out anything that wasn't a typical rumor." She said with intentional staleness. "Or are you just looking for excuses." Being who she was, and because of her close relationship with her leader, she knew that Robin often became rather malicious when an enemy irked him personally.

"Yes actually." Said Robin plainly. "He's repeatedly saved this and several other cities and areas from alien and meta-human terrorist attacks. He's viewed by the majority of the adolesant population as an international hero." He looked out the window. "But it does worry me that he may be playing by his own rules."

Cyborg began to get curious. "So what did that guy say he was again?"

Robin's facial expression never changed. "A Plumber. He said his group was called the Plumbers."

"Dude," said Beast Boy. "Seriously? Who names their team the Plumbers? Titans is so much cooler. Villains would never say 'Oh-no, watch out for the Plumbers and their scary plungers.'"

Raven rolled her eyes. "It's not his team's name. He said they were an intergalactic police force. Even Star knew who and what he was."

"She didn't seem to like it. She seemed kind of scared of him." Said Beast Boy. "Like she was afraid for her life, I've never seen her pale like that before."

Robin tensed. "Yeah, I think this law enforcement group of theirs could be operating oppressively. I mean, even the JL doesn't know about them, maybe even the US government. We have to get to the bottom of this."

"Any leads?" Asked Cyborg.

"Yeah. Apparently he works directly with a guy named Kevin Levin."

"Clever name. What's his dads name Evan?"

Asked Beast Boy.

"No, it's Devin."

…"Okay."

"Any way, this guy Levin-"

"You mean Kevin?"

"I thought it was Devin?"

"Quiet!" hissed Raven, silencing the metal man and the green boy.

"Thank you. As I was saying, Levin has had a history with illegal activities both in and out of the United States since he was eight years old when he ran away from home. Illegal arms dealing, operating on the black market, attempted and accomplished murders, thefts, terrorism, and just about every petty crime you can think of. Not to mention he was previously recorded as sociopathic and criminally insane."

"Dang. He's supposed to be a good guy?" Asked Beast Boy.

"His entire criminal record adds up to more than a feasible lifetime in Federal Prison."

Raven closed her book, now fully attentive.

"For some reason however, his criminal record is only accessible through a series of nearly unloadable police reports and government records. He's virtually undetectable in the social world; even if you did have something on him you couldn't prove it."

"Unless?" Asked Cyborg.

"You happen to be an amazing detective." Said Robin with total modesty. "I believe if we find Levin, then we'll find out exactly what we're dealing with, and how we can get Starfire back.

Gwen was driving herself to Kevin's garage feeling pretty bland. She didn't really know what to think right now. Here she was in her jerky cousin's car, wondering about what he was doing right now. Even after all the harsh words they exchanged he still insisted she use his car while Kevin's was being modified. Honestly, his depressed attitude had caught her off guard. It's not as though she wasn't still mad at him for what he did (because she was) but it was a week ago. She had long since forgiven him and was just waiting for him to give her an honest face to face apology. Instead he comes to the base asking for the Rust Bucket III for some solo mission.

"What is happening to us?" She said out loud. "We used to be so close."

Gwen wasn't stupid. She knew it wasn't just Ben who'd been a bad friend. They all had their fatal flaws. According to Grandpa Max, she liked to criticize Ben and Kevin when they screwed up. Not only that, but she almost never acknowledged the sacrifices other people make for the sake of the missions they do. 'It's not like I don't care or anything. I work hard all the time, my days are freaking hard!' she sighed. 'I guess I'm so used to working myself to the grave every day I thought everyone else did. Turns out I can handle pressure better than Ben.'

It was true. She really could. Ben often needed support to make it through his ordeals.

'Not that he'd admit it.' She thought bitterly. Then her face grew soft. 'Although…he does do a lot for us, and it's not like we ever thank him. Nobody does.' She sighed again. 'He risks his life every day, he saves people who hate him, nobody thanks him, and he always takes full responsibility for every failure.' She thought this just as she pulled up to Kevin's garage.

'As soon as he comes back, I'm taking him out for smoothies.' She smiled to herself as she exited the car. The garage door was open and Kevin's car was visible from behind. She saw a pair of jean covered legs sticking out from beneath. Off to the side she saw something she wasn't expecting.

"Julie? What are you doing here?" she asked the Asian-American girl sitting on the counter.

"Hey Gwen," She said depressingly. "I was actually just waiting for you to show up. I need to talk to you."

'Thank God she's here,' Thought Kevin from beneath his car. 'This chick has been bugging me about freak'n nothing all day. What happened to calling your girlfriends when you're upset? Instead she comes here?'

"What's wrong Julie?" asked Gwen quietly.

Julie looked away and rubbed her arm nervously. "I…um…I sort of…broke up with Ben."

"WHAT!" "Ow." That last part came from Kevin after sitting up too quickly under his car. "Why would you do that? What happened?" Asked Gwen loudly. "Did he do something?"

Julie continued to look away. "It's not like I just decided to overnight, we've been having a lot of problems I'm sure you're aware of."

Gwen nodded.

"Well I just…I couldn't take it anymore. I mean, we tried to fix it but there was just nothing we could do. He kept hurting me and I was hurting him…so…"

Gwen couldn't believe what she was hearing. After everything they did to stay together. "Wow. Um…that's some pretty heavy news. What are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know. That's why I came to see you." She sounded like she was fighting back tears. "I mean…I said some things that I shouldn't have said. I sounded like a total-"

"Don't even say it Julie." Said Gwen quickly. "What exactly did you say?"

She bit her lip. At this point Kevin had stopped working and was listening intently. This was getting interesting. Julie was about to continue when a loud beeping sound emitted from inside Kevin's car.

"Kevin?" Asked Gwen with mild concern.

"Relax. It's just the tech radar." He said without getting from under his car. "Could you check it please? I really need to finish this."

"Sure whatever. Hold that thought Julie." Gwen said 'Lazy Osmosian.' She leaned inside the window of Kevin's car and looked at the small screen above his radio. "Um Kev, it says there's a large source of level 6 technology headed this way." She stared at the screen curiously. "It's not being filtered by anything so whoever has it is either stupid, or doesn't care that we know."

"Nice." Said Kevin. "Must be Cooper with my Galvan Anti-Matter Cannon."

Gwen and Julie raised an eyebrow. "Why would you need one of those?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"This time, yes."

"I'm gonna install it on the RBIII. Those things are great for interstellar combat."

"Oh." She said plainly. So he was just trying to mess with her? Typical. "Wait, isn't that level 8 technology?"

Kevin paused. "Well, that thing isn't always 100 percent accurate. Besides, who else could it be?"

"_Ship Ship." _Barked a little black and green blob from behind Julie.

"Ship says it's…some kind of metal man." Said Julie, causing Gwen to look at her strangely. Julie blushed. "I can understand him sometimes."

"Well whatever it is just turned on our street. So I guess, we'll find out in 3…2…1…"

Just as Gwen finished a blue and white car with circuit patterns running through it was driving up and pulled into the driveway of Kevin's garage.

"Friend of yours?" Asked Julie.

Kevin looked from under his car. "Never seen that ride before. Looks kind of wanna be high tech, but I can appreciate the artistic value of a paint job like that." Then he turned back to his work.

Julie looked quizzically at Gwen, who just shrugged. "He gets like that around cars." He looked over to the car, and attempted to sense the auras of those inside. She was shocked to feel one that practically exploded with dark energy. 'Whoa! Major magic coming from whoever's in there.' It felt like she was sensing someone as strong as Hex. Not really making her comfortable thinking about that guy.

"Careful guys." She said with seriousness. "These people could be dangerous."

"Where's my magnetic wrench?" Asked Kevin, partially ignoring the seriousness of the situation.

"_BURP!...Ship."_

"You didn't."

Robin was the first to step from the car followed by Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven who seemed bothered by something.

"This is it?" Said Beast Boy. "I was expecting some super huge base or something."

"Well my systems were picking up a lot of high level tech in this spot." Said Cyborg.

"And someone here has extremely high magical energy that rivals that of a high ranking mage."

Robin only nodded. He noticed the red haired girl first. She was dressed in a red white and black school uniform. There was a girl behind her who looked like she was crying. And under a sleek looking car was the lower body of a man. 'Might be our guy.' He thought as he approached the open garage. "Excuse me," he said to the red haired girl, "Are you Gwen Tennyson?"

She nodded slowly, eyeing him suspiciously. "Yes. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes. I'm Robin, the Leader of the Teen Titans. I recently met your cousin Ben Tennyson, and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions." He finished as the rest of his team came up behind him. Raven was glaring at Gwen from under her cloak. She wasn't sure of what to think of her yet.

"How exactly do you know Ben?" Asked Gwen suspiciously. "When you say recently do you mean-"

"Just yesterday." He said. "He showed up during a fight this guy named Dr. Animo." Gwen noticeably raised an eyebrow. "What we really wanted to ask you about was-"

"Your cousin totally just showed up and took our friend to alien prison!" Yelled Beast Boy. Causing everyone to stare at him. "What?" He asked nervously. "I was tired of the tension."

"Well, yeah that's exactly it." Said Cyborg. "You cousin arrested our friend Starfire and said she was on Earth illegally, so she had to go to court."

Julie gasped. Gwen's face was frozen in shock.

"I'm assuming you didn't know about this?" Asked Robin.

Gwen shook her head. "I knew he had a solo mission assigned by our commanding officer. I didn't know it was this deep." She dipped her head in thought. "I would have thought he'd want all of us for something like that."

Robin's eye twitched. "You don't seem particularly bothered that my friend was arrested." Said Robin.

"It's not that…"

"She's saying," Said a deep voice from under the car, "That in a case like illegal immigration, a team with law expertise like ours would be recommended. Not just Ben, although it might work out fine if he's smart about it."

"I'm guessing your Kevin Levin." Said Robin bitterly. "I was actually hoping to meet you."

Kevin rolled from under his car, revealing his whole body. He got up from the floor and stood up to tower a good foot and a half over Robin. "So you're the one who's been pulling together my old files." He said with a smirk. Robin looked generally surprised. "Yeah I notice things like that."

"I see. Then you know that you have yet to do time for _actual_ crimes against humanity." He said with extreme malice.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "I've done more than just crimes against humans. I was wanted on quite a few different planets, but I defiantly did my time."

"How exactly is that?" Asked Robin. "You did a lifetime if crime in a few years."

"Yeah. I'm registered under an interstellar personnel file. That means I can be punished under Plumber jurisdiction,"

"Meaning."

"Meaning I paid for my crimes the 'alien' way. I was thrown in the null void prison dimension with the galaxies most dangerous villains at the age of eleven. I've been through enough psychological trauma to kill Freddy Crougar with torturous nightmares, and I've helped save the world enough times to cover any amount of community service. So I'm good."

The Titans just stared at him. So did Gwen and Julie.

Robin shook his head. "Not the point. How did your files get scattered?"

"None of your business. You're not registered as a part of the American judiciary system." Said Kevin still smirking. "Now get lost, unless you have some other reason to be here."

Robin frowned deeply. "Levin, I didn't come here to argue with you, but my friend was just arrested by a police force that supposedly doesn't even exist on Earth. So I think I deserve an answer as to why, and why a terrorist is a part of this organization."

"Hey, listen kid." Said…Gwen? "Kevin is not a criminal. He really has reformed and paid for his crimes. It's my understanding the Teen Titans are full of former criminals. Some of which who never did any time." She said.

"She does have a point." said Cyborg. "I mean tons of our closest friends had hard pasts."

Kevin was still smirking over Robin. "Besides, I was insane back then." He said before turning back to get in his position on the floor and pushed himself back under his car.

Raven was intrigued by this. "Was?"

"It's complicated." He said from under his car. "Some people have some problems that are just too sad to explain. Just know that my friends helped me fix it in the end."

Raven was silent.

"I…see." Robin. "But that still doesn't clear it with me."

"Your words don't matter to me bird boy." Said Kevin.

"You're still a criminal and until I can learn why you took my friend-"

"I didn't. Ben did."

"Then contact him. I need some straight answers."

Gwen shook her head. "We can't give you any. You're not allowed to know."

"Then I guess-"

"Robin don't," Said Raven. "They're telling the truth."

"But they still owe us an explanation." He said drawing a Bo staff from his belt.

"Rob come on man." Said Cyborg.

"Seriously." Said Beast Boy.

"I'm not stopping until I know what happened to Star." Said Robin.

Gwen's eyes glowed bright magenta, and Raven felt her power come to the surface and manifest in the air.

"Did he just draw a weapon on us?" Said Kevin in an irked tone. He got up from under his car again and put his hand on the roof of his car.

Ship growled and jumped onto Julie's shoulders.

"Yes." Said Robin. "Sorry about this. But I need to know."

Green metal began coating Kevin's arm and soon his entire body as he absorbed the metal of his car. "I figured." He said. "Starting to wish I had that anti-matter cannon now."

A/N: Not a lot of Ben x Starfire in this one but it seems to be setting the story well. There will defiantly be more of those two in the future. Ben has a scan of Star, whom I've already named. So here's your weekly chapter of Pride. Now I spent all day on this, so when I realized how long it was going to be I decided to cut it in half. I hope you liked it, please remember to review. They're the motivation of this story. I also have a story poll on my page, so be sure to check it out too. Later readers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Pride of a Hero**

A/N: So here I am again with your weekly chapter of Pride, and let me tell you it has been some week for me. All of my teachers gave me tests this week. All of them! I had to study so much I almost forgot to plot this chapter. Sad right? There should be a lot more Ben and Starfire this time around, and hopefully it will be to your sastisfaction. You people also don't seem to like Robin much. Hopefully you'll change your opinion by the end of the story. Kevin isn't the only enemy the Titans have on Earth you know. Also, did you see the new Ben 10 UA this week? It's the awesomely serious Ben that I missed so much! And isn't it strange that it follows a similar plot to my story. I swear I didn't see that coming. Maybe I'll tie this plot into it.

I just want to take this time to encourage you to review, and please, if it's not too much trouble, vote in my story poll. Only like…2 people voted. Trust me I need help deciding what to write next.

I don't own Ben 10 or Teen Titans. So get back lawyers! **STEP OFF! **(Karate chops).

Gwen glared at the young super hero in front of her. Robin, the so called boy wonder, had just pulled a weapon on them. More importantly, he just pointed it at Kevin. 'This guy must have a death wish or something.' She also noticed that his teammates seemed very unsure whether or not they should get ready to fight. None of them seemed like the violent type, not even the leader. 'I know how that feels.' "Just why is it that you decided to come here and question _us_?" she asked.

Robin glared. He didn't move a muscle. "I have a right to know what you did with my friend."

"No, actually you don't." Said Kevin. His face was unusually stoic. "You have _human_ rights. More specifically, you have _American_ rights. Your friend Starfire doesn't."

"Robin, we really should just-" Beast Boy was about to say 'leave' until Cyborg made a cutting motion with his hands.

A gesture that meant: 'Now is not the time to start an argument.'

Raven was actually starting to get nervous. She had fought many powerful magicians, but Gwen's power seemed so…_raw._ 'It's like she has to leash it.' It wasn't anything she couldn't handle if she focused. 'But still…'

"So no matter what we say," said Julie, who'd nearly forgotten her own problem. "You're still going to fight us?"

"Only if it doesn't answer my question," Said Robin.

Gwen raised a glowing hand, her eyes glowing too. "Not smart."

"Titans-"

"_**Reptilicus!" **_Shouted Gwen. Before any of them could react, Robin's staff glowed brightly before transforming into a silver colored cobra.

"What the!" He cried as it wrapped around his arms and positioned itself to face him, its fangs dripping with pink poison.

"_**Tur-bo!" **_Gwen waved her arms together in a hammer swing motion, releasing a huge pink colored whirlwind that blew the Titans out of the garage and out onto the street.

"_Ship Ship!" _Ship bounced into the air before expanding out over Julie's body, coating her in black and green goop, before forming himself into a battle suit. (If you haven't seen it before, he turned into a suit of armor that looks like Samus Aram from Metroid). Julie now stood at 8ft in height. "Ship, warn me before you do that." She said inside her armor/pet.

The three teens ran outside to face their foes head on, dispite being outnumbered.

Robin sat up quickly after recovering from his little flight lesson. He tried to reach for his belt when he remembered…

"_Hiishshshshs!"_Hissed the serpent wrapped around his arms. It leaded back to bite his vulnerable face when suddenly it was coated in black energy.

Robin looked over to see Raven reaching out a magic coated hand, whispering under her breath.

The snake suddenly straightened out and molded back into his signature staff. Robin looked to Raven and nodded in thanks. He leapt up, just in time to see a green armored Kevin run straight at him. Kevin's forearms and fists suddenly enlarged to about six times their normal size as he swung a quick and heavy punch at the boy wonder, who leapt back just as it smashed the ground.

He spun his staff professionally before pointing it at Kevin. "I guess we do this the hard way."

Kevin smirked. "Good. I get to smash stuff."

Raven knew she'd have to fight Gwen herself, so she told BB and Cyborg to handle the girl in the armor. Her eyes glowed white as she levitated higher into the air.

When Gwen finally caught up her eyes were glowing brightly and her hands were covered in pink magic. Raven didn't normally speak to her opponents. She'd apologize afterward. Her own glowing eyes intensified as she spread her hands and he hands coated themselves with black energy..

"You use dark magic?" Asked Gwen with an annoyed tone. Raven's empathy told her that Gwen's annoyance was with Robin, not her.

"Yeah. Is something wrong with that?" Raven questioned.

"No." Said Gwen with a smirk. "I just never got a chance to fight a _dark_ mage before." Gwen placed her arms in front of her in an X shape. _**"Te-con-don-drist!" **_She cried as she uncrossed and released a pink ball of fire, shaped like a comet.

Raven raised a shield I front of her just as the attack hit, ricocheting it into the pavement, and causing a dome shaped explosion of fire.

Gwen raised her arms again, and a platform of energy lifted her to Raven's level. _**"Exto-veronico!" **_She cried as she waved her arm in a horizontal slash, sending out a drill shaped blast of energy.

Raven released her own blast of magic that wrapped around the outside of the drill and spun counter clockwise. The drill stopped in mid-air as the two mages pushed with telekinetic energy. The drill slowly inched its way closer and closer to Gwen. _**"Azarath Metrion Zithos!" **_

The black energy around the drill suddenly exploded in a flash of black and white, causing a sudden explosive release of telekinetic energy. Gwen was thrown back, off her platform before sending a burst of energy to the ground, forming it into a cushion to catch her.

'So she doesn't need to say certain spells.' Thought Raven. Most of Raven's spells were performed with mental concentration alone (levitation, telekinesis, energy bursts, empathy, ect.) and her Azerath spell was just to further control the amount of power she used at a time. Apparently, this girl did the same thing.

Gwen flipped back up almost immediately and held out two open palms. _**"Ignuss Faatus: Spheraco!"**_ Another massive ball of fire formed in her hands, only this one was bright orange.

Raven could sense the power of the attack and began chanting under her breath. _**"Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azerath Metrion Zinthos, Azerath Metrion Zinthos."**_

Both girls released they're attacks at in the same instant, Gwen's ball of fire glowed like a sun as Raven shot out a clawed hand of dark energy. The hand gripped the speeding ball of fire as the two locked in another energy struggle. It was then that Raven sensed something wrong.

What many people don't know, is that Raven's magic is tied to the dark energy in her soul. So a piece of her soul is used to strengthen her powers when they are used. Right now, she was feeling a burning sensation in her diaphragm. 'What is this?' "Aaaugh!" She cried out in pain as her spell dropped, exposing her to her enemy.

Fortunately for her Gwen's spell dispersed as well and she fell to her knees, breathing heavily. Unknown to Raven, Gwen's powers were tied to her body's self produced energy. Being an Anodite, she had plenty of energy to spare, but she could only use so much at a time before…

Raven regained her composure and her cloak swirled around her as her powers formed a spiral around her body. _**"Azarath…"**_

Gwen leapt up and pulled more of her inner energy to her body _**"Ignuss Faatus:…"**_

The black swirl began gathering behind Raven and morphing slowly into the shape of a bird. _**"Metrion…"**_

The pink mana over Gwen's arms began dispersing and gathering over her head, their color flashing between magenta and fiery orange. The mass of energy began sprouting golden colored wings. Suddenly the energy flashed and morphed into that of a massive eagle. _**"**__**Foínix!" **_

"_**Zinthos!"**_

The two mages released their magic, and the two giant magical birds flew straight into each other. The light and fire vs. the dark and cold.

_**BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!**_

And the explosion of light shook the very sky.

Meanwhile:

Cyborg and Beast Boy faced the girl in the armor, teeth and weapons drawn.

Beast Boy was tired of fighting. They'd already gotten their butts kicked once this week. He took the form of a lion, fast and powerful. Although he wasn't sure if he'd be useful in this form against a huge robot girl.

"Listen girl," Said Cyborg in a calm voice. "I really don't wanna fight you right now but-"

"But you have to because your leader said so right?" She said plainly and with a serious frown. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe he might be wrong? That you should assert your own opinions?"

"Yeah once." He replied. His weapon never lowered.

"I feel bad for you." Said Julie. "I'm gonna have to beat you both, and you didn't even want this." She stuck out her arms and they molded into two huge energy gauntlets.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Said Cyborg . "BB, stay back."

"What!"

Cyborg and Julie charged at each other, fists raised. Cyborg transformed his arm halfway just as his and Julie's fists collided, resulting in a massive sonic powered impact. He felt a spark of energy touch his skin before they both leapt back and started hammering each other again.

'You're gonna regret this Robin.' Thought Cyborg. 'We're fighting the wrong people here.'

Julie blocked a punch from the metal man. It was obvious he was holding back, and truthfully, so was she. They didn't want this, so they wouldn't over do it. 'Ben, what did you do to them?' She thought sadly to herself.

These were they're last thoughts before the sky lit up, literally, with pink and black colors.

Meanwhile:

Robin wasn't a saint. But he wasn't a push over. He knew what he wanted, and what he didn't know he made it his business to find out. Of course that was his fatal flaw. Greed. Not the want of money, or riches, but information. He felt entitled to anything he wanted to know, even without realizing it.__As Raven often put it: His heart was in the right place, but his mind had sought a home elsewhere. Not very original, but entirely true.

Kevin was another story. Kevin's fatal flaw was also greed, but while he loved money, he felt as though everything he had was his and his alone. His car, his home, his ship, and his girlfriend. It's one reason he's so easy to piss off. Of course he'd never admit to that, the jerk. As Gwen put it: He's a good guy, and a hero, but he's always holding on to his past. In his case, that was bad.

These two heroes also happened to be fighting rather aggressively.

Robin's steel tipped shoe cracked against Kevin's jaw just as a hammer shaped hand slammed into his ribs.

Okay very aggressively.

Robin flipped back and quickly reached to his belt, ignoring his bleeding side, and tossed a bolo at Kevin.

The Osmosian boy attempted to slice it with a sword hand, but the titanium cable quickly wrapped around him, and his body lit up with sparks of electricity. "Guahhh!" He hit the ground as he twitched from the shock, trying desperately to break out of the cable.

Robin approached him slowly. "Next time try absorbing something that doesn't conduct electricity." He said grimly.

Kevin's mind was going at 100mph but….that sentence….that's what _he _said to him. _He _was the only man Kevin wished he'd killed after becoming a Plumber. _That man_ almost ruined his life, his friends. And nobody hurt _his _friends and got away with it! Kevin wriggled his fingers out of the trap and touched the concrete, his body turning to black stone. The sparks stopped. He turned and looked at Robin with a face full of rage, his hands morphing into long hooked stone blades. "What did you just say?" He hissed.

Robin showed no emotion. He simply pulled an explosive disk from his belt. Before he could attack…

_**BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!**_

The sky lit up.

Ben and Starfire exited the Rust Bucket, slowly. The young Tameranian girl had her handcuffs on again, arms behind her back. Her head was low. And she avoided the stares of the Plumbers pointing guns in her direction. It was truly unnerving.

Ben was as angry as she was scared. These so called heroes of the galaxy were pointing guns at a currently defenseless girl who'd committed no violent crimes. He saw their faces as they looked at her. Disgust, hatred, malice, one even had the nerve to spit off to the side as they walked past. It was killing him. He wanted to go hero and beat some virtue into these fakes. His heart melted in his chest when he saw Starfire look up at him.

She had to look at him. He was the only friendly face here. The only one who didn't look at her with killing intent. They were on planet Arteries, a colony that was relatively close to Earth. It was also a sector that refugees came to during _that _time. She shuddered visibly.

Ben was starting to get really worried. This sector of space was probably the worst place to have a trial for a Tameranian. Especially one of royal blood. They approached the entrance to the holding facility. 'This is overkill.' The holding facility was a place made to contain federal and war criminals until their trials. She'd have been safer with him.

The walk did not get any easier as they walked through the hallways of that awful place. The prisoners didn't hold back their words like the guards.

"What the? A Tameranian?"

"I thought this was a 'respectable planet." One laughed.

"Oh great. There goes the food supply." Said another.

"As long as her snoring doesn't keep me awake."

"What are you looking at?"

"That's what you get for whoring yourself to the earthlings!"

Ben's eyes widened with rage. Whoever said that- he looked to Starfire, who looked the same. She held her face blank.

"What is this, a zoo!"

"What an ugly creature!"

"She looks delicious! In more ways than one!"

"This is a Tameranian? She looks so pathetic."

"Go home stupid Troq! Let me live out my last days in peace from you savages!"

Starfire froze. She'd been expecting that word. That stupid word that shamed her entire race. She knew it was coming, but it didn't help.

"Get out of here Troq!"

"Drop dead Troqy"

"Spawn of evil! Drop dead Troq!"

"This place is for criminals, not monsters!"

"Disgusting little Troq. Probably here to play harlot for her dead blood line."

"You monsters killed my father! I hope you bleed through your eyes and die!"

"Go bathe in your own feces you whore!"

"**HUMUNGOSAUR!" **Roared Ben in his 60ft Vaxsaurian form. "That's enough!" He swung a massive hand at the steel wall, making a loud explosive noise. "The next comment I here will be the last to leave any of your mouths!" The prisoners grew quiet. "And you!" He said pointing at the guards. "Keep them quiet and do your jobs, or I'll send you to work in the null void for the rest of your natural lives!"

"Y-yes sir Magister!" they saluted.

Humungosaur growled once more before he was coated in a green light. Out of the light came Ben, who looked red in the face, his frown full of rage. Honestly it made him want to cry. So much hatred in just a few short minuets, he didn't think it was possible. It made his skin crawl. He looked at Starfire again. His face fell. 'Oh no…'

She let her hair shade her eyes as she shook. A few small whimpers could be heard. Thoughts of a lifetime in this place filled her mind. She couldn't take it. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't give them the satisfaction. Blackfire would never…Blackfire. She though grimly. She felt a touch on her arm, and looked to see Ben giving her a look of sympathy while continuing to guide her down the hall.

A few minutes later. They reached another door, one that led to a room of smaller cells. The holding room. Where criminals awaited trials. Ben frowned even deeper. 'Why park us over there if we need to be…UGH! Those jackasses! Does hatred run that deep? They just want her to suffer. No wonder the guards didn't do anything.' These thought ran through his mind as he lead Starfire to her cell, the last one on the left side. He opened the door and she stepped inside.

She found it strange that he followed her inside the cell. She didn't turn around when he reached down to undo the magnetic lock on her hand cuffs, although the inhibitor was still in effect. She looked at the ground and gritted her teeth.

Ben reached out a hand, but pulled back. He didn't know what to say except. "Star-"

Before he could finish she suddenly swung around and wrapped her arms around him, almost making his fall over. She buried her face in his shoulder cried. She cried aloud and her wails were only muffled by the thick Plumber's uniform. She'd never felt this horrible before.

Ben was shocked a little, but them bowed his head over her and lifted his arms to hug back. He let her cry long and hard. The minuets seemed like hours as they stood there. When the wails died down he wisped hoarsely. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to go through that."

She lifted her head slowly. Her face was slightly red, as were her eyes. She looked up at him and shook her head. "I-it is n-not that." She stuttered. "I…"

Ben waited.

"My sister." She said, "She went to prison for the first time when she was only 14." She wiped her arm over her eye. "Just the thought of her living through that so young every day," She bit back another whimper. "It breaks my heart!"

Ben's eyes widened with shock.

"How could they do that to her!" She cried out again. "How could they put my sister in such a horrible place! She was just a little girl!" She started to weep again.

Ben couldn't believe what he was hearing. Here was a girl who could end up in prison for involuntary crime, and she was crying because she felt sorry for someone other than herself. Ben's fatal flaw was pride, he was full of himself most of the time and cared little for anyone outside of his hero duties. He'd never met such a humble person in his life. 'What kind of fake monster am I! How could I even compare myself to a hero like her?' He though in disgust with himself. "Starfire." He said sternly. She looked up at him again. "I swear, on the lives of everyone who lived and died to make me the man I am, that I _will _get you out of here, and I will get you home." He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "You deserve so much more than this. You deserve your friends and your home. I will make it my responsibility to protect you until you're back with them safe and sound. I promise."

She could only stare at him, mind racing. She couldn't help it. She smiled through her tears and hugged him again. "Thank you so much Magister!"

Ben smiled softly. "It's Ben." He said. "You can just call me Ben."

A/N: What did I tell you? Drama. I hope that last part wasn't too rushed. But we need to get this trial started ASAP. Plus the little fight at the beginning sets up a separate plot for the Earthers. I hope you liked the SxB moment there. Writing racist comments is hard when you've never written any before. I'm not racist, so I'm not sure what angle to come from. Really, I hated writing that part, but at the same time I loved what it did for the story. Trust me, anything that wasn't elaborated on will be explained later. I love this story and I can't wait to finish it. I want you all to see the ending already! But I digress.

Don't forget to review this chapter. I need to know what you all think.

And please visit my story poll. I just want to ask, I'm not attacking you about it or anything. I just want more than 2 people to vote.

DR. is out ya'll. **"Fasttrack!" **(speeds away)


	6. Chapter 6

**Pride of a Hero**

A/N: _You waited, so here it is. I gotta admit my heart's not really in this one this week. But sometimes we all need to work when we don't want to even if it's only to benefit few people we don't even know. All I ask is that you review, so I know you care._

_I also want to take this time to thank __**S.P.J.N.D**__ for his (?) very informative and supportive reviews. Admittedly I would have just looked past the little details (Like Starfire's real name, or a few potential scenarios for the story) if he had not left his notes. I'm only sorry I couldn't send this in a PM since he doesn't have an account. Or maybe he just doesn't review on it. _

_Also, as always, please take time when you're finished to vote in my story poll. It is located on my profile. No, I won't make you read everything I wrote on there. (You babies)_

_I don't care what anyone says. Ben 10 is only getting better and better to me, now that they ended that season of filler episodes._

_I don't own Teen Titans, Ben 10, or Regular Show. So __**STEP OFF! (Super 'Bunch of Baby Ducks' Karate Chop!) **_

Ben had stayed with Starfire for about half an hour before he reluctantly left in order to clear up the paper work they'd need for her trial. Even though he left he couldn't stop thinking about her. How humble she was for her supposedly evil sister even in a sad place like this. It made him feel sick thinking about how much of a jerk he'd been to his own friends. He shook his head as he walked down the halls. 'Not now Ben. Right now she's your responsibility.' He made sure to promise her he'd be back soon. God forbid something happen while he was gone, but this was his job. Now that he was done he had to hurry back.

He put the hard light "paper work" into his belt pocket and broke into a race walk. He probably looked ridicules, but it was better than scaring people by running. He made sharp turn, and bumped into something large and heavy that almost knocked him on his rear.

"Sorry about that." Ben said, holding his slightly hurting head. "I wasn't paying attention." He looked up to see a very muscular looking man in a navy blue jump suit that covered his entire body up to the shoulders, which were covered in a silver fabric that held a red star like shape in the center of his collar. His face and hair were equally silver, and he had dark black eyes with a small scar under his right eye.

He stared down at Ben from a height of 7ft. His face was in a confused scowl. "Who the heck are you?" he asked in what might be considered a deep almost heroic voice. "And what in the galaxy is a kid like you doing in a Plumber's uniform?" He asked.

Ben straightened up and did his best to look dignified. "I'm sorry. My name is Ben Tennyson. Magister Ben Tennyson of the Plumbers." He said. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Ben Tennyson?" The man said in a near shocked voice. "But you're just a teenager!" His scowl tuned into a smirk. "You must be one tough kid to take on an entire army of those Highbreed freaks _and _Vilgax the Conqueror!" He held out a hand. "You have my thanks for avenging my friend Ultimos. The names Val Yor."

Ben quickly shook his hand. Not that he wasn't flattered or anything, but he really had to get going. "It's nice to meet you sir but as I said-"

"You know I do a little hero work myself around this sector. I stopped several Incursion invasions and even saved Earth from a Locrix assimilation. You can thank those robo-freaks for helping produce those annoying Techadon robots."

"Yeah I had a little trouble with those a while ago." Thought Ben, thinking back to the incident with Cash. "But I really need to go."

"What's the rush?" Said Val Yor. "You got a date or something?"

Ben blushed a little, slightly surprised by the remark. "Um, not really…"

"I see." Said the taller hero. "It's personal, so I won't probe. I'm guessing you're on this planet about the Tameranian." His face darkened a little, as if he were thinking about something.

"Yes sir." Said Ben. "It's kind of why I have to go."

"Oh," Said Val Yor. "Well I won't hold you up. It's a shame too. I thought she was one of the good ones." He put his hands on his hips.

Ben raised an eyebrow, slightly confused by this statement. "What do you mean 'one of the good ones'?" He asked critically.

"I met that particular Tameranian on a trip to Earth, when I fought the Locrix. I met the Teen Titans and asked for their help. Biggest mistake I ever made." He frowned deeply and shook his head. "They don't get how this galaxy works."

Ben was listening intently. Something seemed very wrong with this man's sudden change in demeanor. "What happened?" Asked Ben.

"They were pretty good company, but they treated it like an equal. Surely they see that its brain isn't as developed as theirs."

Ben's face convulsed in shock. 'IT!'

"But I guess that's just how Earth is, no offence. I just don't see how one of those Troqs is supposed to function in a civilization for intellectuals. People with values."

Ben did an about face and walked away quickly. "I'm sorry but I've wasted too much time. Excuse me." 'I hope I never see this guy again.'

Val Yor stared at the retreating teen. His face went back into a deep scowl. 'I see. You're just like them. That makes you a liability Ben Tennyson.' He thought sadly. 'It's a sad day in the universe when a kid makes himself equivalent to nothing.' He then continued to walk down the hall.

Ben's head was spinning. He couldn't figure it out. He couldn't even get angry because he was so amazed. How in the freaking universe can so many people hate so much? From what he'd seen most of the people here used a venomous anger filled hate. But Val Yor…he said it so casually. He really believed he was better than Starfire. As if it were a fact of life that everyone knew. "Racist punk!" Ben hissed under his breath. Somehow, he was more disgusted with Val Yor than any of the others. He was pondering why, when he heard a banging sound come from the cell hallway. Followed by loud snickering. Ben's blood went cold. His adrenalin began pumping like crazy. He sprinted down the hall and through the door.

Starfire had her pack turned to the two armed guards; both of them were Merlinisapiens (ChamAlien's Race). She could _almost _understand their mocking. The war only ended a few years ago…

"Hey! Are you paying attention?" Yelled one of them. He was the taller of the two and his lizard like body was covered in stripy blotches. In his hand was a long golden rod with a grey tip. "I said stand up troqy."

'That is not my name.' Thought Starfire. 'I will not respond to such ignorance.'

"Maybe it's too stupid to understand you." Said the shorter one. "You know how they have to perverse themselves on strangers just to learn how to speak." He laughed. "It's so sad how they have to have intercourse to educate themselves."

This was of course untrue, but Starfire would not respond. It wasn't worth the argument.

The tall one banged his hand on the door of the cell. The sound caused her to jump slightly.

"Hehehe! Did you see it jump!"

"That's nothing." Said the other. "Watch this…" He stuck his rod into the bars of the cell and pressed a small switch at the base. The rod shot out a yellow bolt of electricity directly into Starfire's exposed back.

The jolt shot straight into her nervous system and caused her to twitch and squirm. It was seconds before she had had enough control over her own muscles to cry out in pain. "YAAAAAH!"

"Next time stand up when I say so!" Laughed the Merlin, his hand still on the switch. He wouldn't be laughing again for a long time afterward.

"**Benvictor!"**

They suddenly found themselves gripped by a massive set of arms, in which their first instinct was to wriggle out. But before they could.

"GAAAAAAAAAH!"

"WHAAAAAAAAH!"

They felt a massive burst of electrical energy surge through their bodies, the force on their nerves was so great they pulsed in and out of their visible and invisible pigmentations. Within the next moment they were thrown across the room still twitching and groaning. They coughed and spluttered from the smoke coming from their uniforms.

The tall one was the first to see what had attacked them. It was a huge grey-green man with black pants and black steel toed boots. He had two thick metal gauntlets on each hand, and two electric coils sticking out behind his shoulder blades. His eyes were green, and his thick black hair was rather long. What shocked him most was the Plumbers badge on his chest.

"You two have 10 seconds to get out of here, or I'm gonna boil you in your own blood." He said venomously, with enough killer intent to make a Vaxsaurian fall to its knees. He stared at them darkly and waited for the tall lizard to pick up his friend and stair back at him. "Well?" Said Ben irritably. "Beat it! Or throw you both out of an air lock!" He yelled as green sparks danced around his hands.

The two Merlins ran, straight to their commanding officer to be relocated far from here.

Ben turned around and immediately opened the door to Starfire's cell and ran inside. She was still twitching slightly, although there were no burn marks to be found. 'Thank God she's okay.' He thought as he reached down slowly to help her sit up.

The second his finger touched her skin she jumped, and scooted into the wall. She stared at him with shaking eyes. Her mind was still racing and she couldn't see straight.

Ben knew why. Those rods aren't just electrical; they deal some serious jolts to the nerves and brain, causing confusion and temporary paralysis. Of course for a dense skinned Tameranian, even with inhibiters, they can fry your brain cells with prolonged effect. She was seriously shaken up and his appearance might not be helping.

"B-B-B-Ben?" She stuttered. "Th-that is you correct?"

Benvictor nodded. "Yeah, it's me Starfire. I'm sorry." He took a few slow steps closer to her and bent over slowly. "I should have been back sooner, I got distracted. It won't ha-"He was cut of suddenly as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine Ben." She said, she sat back against the wall and sighed a shaky breath. "I just cannot see very well right now.

"Don't worry, the nerve damage will were off shortly." He said. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine. Just…"

"Just what?"

"Are _you_ okay? She asked with her eyes closed.

"What?" That was not expected. "What do you mean am I okay?" He asked rather loudly. "You're the one who was hurt!"

Starfire dipped her head. "I just…what you said, to those two men."

"What about it? I meant it, I won't let them-"

"Your voice was full of so much hate. It didn't sound like you. You-"

Benvictor listened puzzled. What did she mean? "I what?"

She turned her head away. "You…scared me."

…

Ben's face fell. 'What?'

He couldn't even form words. He didn't expect this, but then again…

_**Three months earlier**_

_Heatblast shot himself like a rocket at Six-Six, his fiery fist crashing into the merc's visor, shooting him back into a rock structure. He flew so hard he crashed straight through to the other side._

"_Ha, nailed him." Ben said as he landed gracefully. "That's what you get for staying gone for six years! You're way out classed now!"_

"_Dude, cool it." Said Kevin coated in stone armor. "He's got the element-x, the wrong heat signature will set it off!"_

"_Didn't he try this already?" Said Gwen. "I mean he had help last time."_

"_It's not my fault he's so stupid." Ben laughed. "All I know is he's toast." He ran towards the fallen mercenary._

_Six-Six Jumped up from where he landed and drew two laser pistols, the tentacles on his back pulled four more from his pack. "Lstfic mun gutlaskiv ech!" He yelled in his native language. He fired his guns at the annoying Pyronite who challenged him._

" _Well 'listen to my guitar pick' to you too." Ben laughed as he shot himself straight into the air. Hi flipped once and slapped the dial on his chest. He was incased in a green flash of light before a whole new creature emerged. __**"Armodrillo!"**_

_Armodrillo pumped his elbow pistons and vibrated his arms. Six-Six leapt out of the way just as the massive yellow warrior slammed into the ground with a godlike impact. Where he once stood there was now a huge hole in the ground 10ft in diameter._

"_Ben! That E-X is sensitive!" Shouted Gwen. She'd had enough waiting and formed an orb of pink mana in her hands. __**"Tentakleas!" **__She said as she shot the ball forward, as it flew it expanded and shaped itself into a squid like creature with six tentacles. The creature flew like a true to life squid and shot like a torpedo at Six-Six._

_The angry Osmosian known as Kevin was pulling a large gun out of the trunk of his car as she did this. "I have my own little surprise for him." Kevin pulled the trigger on the rifle like laser and an orb of black and red energy formed at the barrel. "This is a graviton cannon. Got it from a friend who owed me a huge favor. These are barely legal you know." He said smugly._

"_That so?" Gwen asked suspiciously._

"_Yeah. That's so." He released his hold on the trigger an the ball of black energy shot like a bullet at Six-Six._

_Gwen's squid creature wrapped its tentacles around him and slowly began to crush his battle suit. The graviton bullet finally approached and Six-Six flinched as the deadly energy…_

_Expanded around him and trapped him in a bubble of dark energy._

"_What the…" Gwen stared at the smug looking Kevin._

"_Gravitons can be used for a lot of things. All it took was a little rewiring."_

"_What the heck guys!" Yelled Armodrillo as he drilled his way to the surface next to Six-Six. "I was gonna surprise him. I totally had this!" He shouted. He sounded a lot angrier than usual._

"_So what?" Said Kevin. "It's not like you're the only one who works on this team."_

"_Not the point! The least you can do is let me do my job." Ben said as he transformed back to his normal self. "Besides, I was having fun messing with him."_

"_He's still a person Ben." Said Gwen. "And this isn't a game. He's a dangerous criminal that needs to be locked up and that weapon he has could do serious damage to the whole sector." She took a step forward and flinched. She held a hand over her bleeding thigh. "Ugh! Forgot about that." She grunted._

"_I'll help you back to the car." Said Kevin._

"_So that's it!" Said Ben._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_He hurts Gwen, steals a planet destroying weapon, and tries to kill us, and we just leave him in a bubble?"_

"_The Plumbers will be here soon." Said Gwen. "Why does it matter I'll be fine."_

"_Do you know any healing spells?"_

"_Well…no. But it's just a-"_

"_It's not just a scratch Gwen. He could have killed you if I hadn't intervened."_

"_What makes you so sure I needed your help?" Gwen asked irritably. "I've been in life threatening situations before and I've always survived. We knew things like this would happen when we started this job. Who cares if I get one minor injury? You almost die all the time!"_

"I _have an Ultimatrix. The strongest weapon in the universe. What do you have? A few magic tricks?"_

"_Can it Tennyson." Said Kevin. "This ain't help'n nobody, just get in the car."_

"_No. I'm serious here and this isn't about you it's about her." He said pointing at Gwen._

"_It's my business if it's about her. I make it my business now can it or I'll-"_

"_Kevin, SHUT IT!" Shouted Ben. Shocking them both. "IF IT'S YOUR BUISNESS THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE TO BLOCK THAT SHOT!"_

"_Don't yell at him! Maybe if you weren't so full of yourself-"_

"_LISTEN TO ME!" Shouted Ben again. "Are we really going to let him off this easy! He's dangerous and evil. He's just going to escape from prison anyway so I say we should-"_

"_We should what!" Shouted Gwen. "What would you have done if we hadn't caught him." _

"_The same thing your squid did." He said in a dangerously dark tone. "Only has as a big angry Armodrillo. All 2000 pounds of him."_

_Gwen looked at him in shock. So did Kevin._

"_Forget this." Said Ben. "Do whatever you want, I'm going home." He slapped his Ultimatrix and transformed again. __**"Jetray!" **_

"_Ben wait-"_

"_When you two are done playing mercy with the mass murdering terrorist I'll be filling out the mission report. I'm done playing around you two. I'm not a little kid trying to conveniently save people just for a thrill. This is real, and I'm not giving anyone an excuse to challenge the Plumbers authority again." With that, he flew off into the distance._

_**End flashback**_

There are some things that should not be said aloud. Ben realized this a little too late for his own comfort, and he hated himself for it. He looked at Starfire as she opened her eyes again, finally able to see.

"Ben? You are alright?" she asked unsurely. She didn't want him to snap again.

Benvictor nodded. "Yeah. Sorry for that. That was misdirected." He held out a hand and she took it as he helped her stand up. "Do your muscles feel okay? Can you stand?"

"Yes. Very well." She smiled brightly. "Thank you for helping me."

"Do you need me to get you anything?"

She looked at him confused. "You are allowed to get me things? But I am a prisoner."

"So what?" He smirked. "I think you deserve a little something after that. You hungry?"

Her stomach answered for her as a loud, almost roar-like, growl came from her gut. She blushed intensely and rubbed the back of her head. "A little." She said quietly.

After recovering from his surprise Benvictor chuckled. "I'll get right on that. But first, there's something you need to know about your trial."

She stooped rubbing her head and paid close attention to him.

"Because of the nature of this case (among other reasons) there were no lawyers available (yeah right) to take the case." He said plainly. His left eye twitched.

Starfire noticed. "I…see…"

"But,"

Her eyes brightened. "But?"

"But I was able to get a volunteer."

She clasped her hands together. "Hurray! That is wonderful news! Who was the kind volunteer?"

Ben twiddled his thumbs nervously, his eyes darted to the left. "Um…well…"

Starfire waited, smile still present.

"Um…I sort of…did."

She stopped bouncing. "You?"

"Yeah. See nobody else was available (Or wasn't willing to) so I decided to take it. Trust me, it's better than nothing and I have a few tricks up my sleeves."

She noticed his eye didn't twitch. "That is great news!" She beamed. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Let's just say I have some pretty smart friends on speed dial." He said tapping his Ultimatrix. "Some of the smartest guys in the Milky Way."

She nodded furiously in realization. "I see! That is great news!" She hugged his neck, although she forgot she couldn't fly and almost slipped.

He instinctively reached out and grabbed her by the waist, holding her up as her face stopped an inch from his.

"Oh…um."

"I…please excuse…"

"No it…it's fine." He said placing her on the ground as a green flash of light came over him. When the light died down he stood only two inches over her. He stared directly into her eyes for 10 long seconds before they both realized they were still holding on to each other. They both pulled back slowly.

"So…you still hungry?" Asked Ben nervously.

Starfire smiled softly and smiled softly. "Yes actually."

"Okay I'll be right back." He said. He really didn't want to leave her alone again, but she was a strong woman, and he couldn't play body guard forever. He slowly turned around to walk out of the cell, when Starfire flew around to his side.

"Hm? What is it Star?" He asked.

She stood on her toes and pecked him in the cheek, blushing brightly while doing so.

He stood there frozen in shock. His face brighter than Fourarms.

"Thank you Ben." She said. "And, if you are going to help me, you should know…"

He looked at her curiously.

"My Tameranian name is Koriand'r. It is most likely what I will be referred to as during the trial." She said rocking on her heels.

Ben smiled. "That's a cool name. I'm guessing it means Starfire?"

"Yes." She smiled again.

"I see. I'll be right back with your dinner, Princess Kory." He said with a wink.

She blushed again.

A/N: Awww . Isn't that cute. Here we get a look at Ben's past, which sort of leads up to his TV mistake. It's not as light as you thought is it? I'm sensing a little killer intent from him, but Ben's too nice. He wouldn't-

Kevin: He tried to kill me once.

So?

Kevin: I'm his best friend. Just say'n.

…Whatever. Lot of Ben x Kory here. Yes, he will start calling her Kory. It's just as much a nickname as Star. I am making up most of Gwen's attacks, just so you know. Ben will be acting as Star's lawyer. Guess which alien he's using…go ahead guess. I won't tell you till later anyway.

So no Earth POV this time. No room, sorry. Besides I hit 3000 words this chapter, that's enough for this week. I apologies if the detail here was not to your satisfaction, but I'm tired this week.

Please review this chapter, I need to know how you feel about the flow of the story so I know how to advance it.

Also, please vote in poll on my profile. 3 voters is not enough.

I'm out ya'll. (Ultimatrix Slam) **"Big Chill!" **(Fades into the floor.) __


	7. Chapter 7

Pride of a Hero

A/N: Yo! I'm finally back. Man, school sucks. So does being grounded, and having a stupid amount of homework. But that's nothing compared to being trapped under a huge writer's block. It broke my shins when it fell on me and killed all of my stories. I had to go on a long journey to the west to reclaim their souls from the shinigami with the help of Son Goku. But that's irrelevant seeing as this couldn't have happened at a worse point in the story. I'm truly sorry for not updating and hope you enjoy this chapter.

Has anyone noticed how random these Ben 10 episodes are getting? Is this really what we should expect from them now that McDuffie is no longer there? I should hope not. He's so weak now! He lost to Ma Vreedle! He didn't use Big Chill to go after Vilgax! There was a trash monster! Thank goodness the writers for Generator Rex are taking care of that with that TV crossover. Admit it, it looks funny.

Robin's breathing became erratic. That punch in the gut really messed him up, especially since he'd been exhaling. 'I'm starting to think I should've called backup.' Robin wasn't stupid by any means. One might question what he was doing fighting another group of super heroes, especially considering his "upbringing." On a good day, he'd say this whole situation could never happen.

Kevin _might _haveagreed with him. Right now he was too busy tearing a hunk of street out of the ground. 'This kid…' He threw the chunk at the boy wonder at surprising speed.

Robin dodge rolled to the side and unclipped three disks from his belt. He seemed to be running out rather quickly, not that he didn't have other tools. He tossed them at Kevin with pinpoint accuracy.

Kevin morphed his arm into a wide blade and slashed at the projectiles, causing them to explode right in front of him. The shockwave blew him back a few feet before he caught himself and waved his hands in front of his face, trying to clear the smoke. He coughed loudly before he looked up to attack again. He readied himself to charge before he felt a steel tipped boot crack against the side of his face. He stumbled back a few feet before he felt another crack against his chest. Kevin slashed out with his bladed hand as he was pushed again, only to hit nothing as he felt a powerful kick sweep his legs from under him. His head hit ground hard, and now his concrete armor was beginning to break apart.

Before his opponent could get up Robin somersaulted through the air and slammed feet first onto Kevin's chest, knocking the wind out of him. He pulled a short double edged sword from his belt and pointed it at Kevin's neck. , the blade was making soft humming noises as he held it still.

Now before we get ahead of ourselves, let's remember Robin, no matter how angry, would not kill. A bluff was about all he had to get this guy's cooperation right now. "Listen Levin, this sword is vibrating fast enough to cut through 2 inches of solid steel, more than enough to cut your armor."

Kevin growled and glared at the young super hero.

"Just tell me what I need to know." Robin said calmly. "I just want my friend back."

"I ain't talking. I've had much scarier weapons pointed at me." Kevin smirked. "You won't get anything out of me."

Robin's face didn't change. "What difference does it make if the weapon kills you anyway?"

"For one thing, torture tools aren't designed to kill. Second, you don't have the guts to even cut me with that pig sticker."

Robin's face still did not change. "Kill you? No. Cut you? I'm tempted."

"That's too bad," Said a female voice. "Now I have to arrest you."

Robin's head spun around to see a young blue alien female with green eyes and a black cone shaped helmet. She had a black and blue striped tail about 4ft long. Who doesn't know already? This was Helen Wheels: Plumber Cadet, Kineceleran, friend of Ben, Kevin, and Gwen. Did I forget to mention she had a laser pistol? Well…she has a laser pistol.

"Throw away your weapon and your belt and put your hands in the air." She said harshly.

Robin did nothing.

"Now!"

Robin hesitated at first, but then deactivated the sword and threw it to the side.

"Now the belt."

He reached to his belt slowly…

"Speed it up!"

The second the words left her mouth he spun around and knocked the gun from her hand with a bird-rang (lame name) and flipped over to where he tossed his sword preparing to pick it up again. A blue blur passed in front of his line of sight as he reached out to grab it, only to realize it was no longer there. Before he could process this he felt Helen's powerful tail slam into him from the side, sending him head over heels in the opposite direction. He felt a tug at his waist as another blue blur sped by him. He didn't need to check to see that his belt was gone. 'Great.' He landed on his hands and back flipped onto his feet. He began plotting his next move when he felt the ground below him distort. He turned his head to see Kevin lifting the street like a carpet.

Kevin smirked one more time before dropping the pulled up ground and letting the Earth shake, sending a wave of concrete at Robin.

Robin had nowhere to run as the hump of ground flung him into the air, he had to right himself or-

All his thoughts were cut short when he felt Helen's tale hit his lower back, sending him down front first. He braced for impact…but it never came. Just as he was about to hit the ground he felt a familiar dark and strangely comforting energy surround him. He felt his body become weightless as he levitated just above the cracking street, coated in Raven's black soul energy. He was sat down gently. He jumped up immediately and got into fighting position. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't flinch. He didn't even turn.

"That's enough Robin." Said Raven softly. "It's over."

"No it's not. I can still-"

"I'm too weak to fight, and now they have back up." She said plainly.

Robin spun around. What he saw, he did not expect. A red man with four arms in a Plumber's suite stood behind Raven with a pistol in his hand. His face was blank but his eyes looked confused. Next to him stood Gwen Tennyson sweating heavily and supporting herself on Julie, who no longer had on her battle suite. Of to the side, he could see Cyborg and Beast Boy walking with their hands above their heads, behind them was a tall blonde man and a shorter black kid. Both wearing Plumber suites. Both holding rifles. 'Dang it.'

"In case you couldn't already tell," Said the Blue girl, suddenly appearing next to him, "You're all under arrest for assault on a high ranking officer. As well as hacking government files and attacking a Plumber's base."

Robin looked on his other side to see Kevin holding his belt, his armor gone except for his now gold colored hand. Robin glared intensely as Kevin crushed the symbol on the belt, breaking it in half and letting it fall to the ground.

Kevin returned the glare, this kid was not about to show him up.

Helen looked over at Cooper (The blonde man) and pointed at the gathered Titans. "Cuff'm and load them onto the ship."

"Hold on Helen." Said Gwen still trying to catch her breath. "We can't do that. Regardless of their power, they're still human and can't be arrested by us without government consent."

Manny scoffed. "So what do we do with them?" No one seemed to notice his voice sounded just like Cyborg. "Because I'm not letting them get away with this, we got enough problems with _normal _people."

Kevin continued to glare at Robin but spoke regardless. "I say we beat some sense into them. Teach'm what happens when they mess with us."

"I couldn't agree more." Said Manny, smiling like a crazy person.

"Or you can let them go before things get out of hand." Said a loud masculine voice.

Everyone's heads shot up to see a figure flying in front of the sun, making it impossible to see his face until he floated down.

"Holy-"

"Oh my God."

"That's-"

"You're-"

"Superman!" Cried Beast Boy. "We're saved!"

Superman landed right in front of both groups. Giving them all a slightly annoyed look. He crossed his arms as two more shadows passed over the younger heroes. Next to the man of steel landed Green Lanterns Guy Gardner and John Stewart. Both looked like they'd rather be somewhere else.

'Oh no.' Thought Robin, actually worried for the first time all day. 'This can't end well.'

Beast Boy still looked exited. "Um, you guys are here to save us right?"

"Hardly," Said Superman. "You kids have really screwed up this time. Attacking Plumbers is a Galactic offence."

Robin's eyes widened. "Wait. How do you know about the Plumbers at all? I thought they were a secret from the JLU."

"Who told you that?" Asked Guy. "All JLU high ranked JLU members know about the Plumbers. Especially the alien ones."

Robin glared at Kevin again. "You lied! What exactly are you trying to pull."

Kevin just rolled his eyes. "Okay, so maybe I wasn't clear before." He said. "The JLU does not know about Plumbers on _Earth._" He looked over at Superman. "At least not before today."

Superman sighed heavily. "Look, I'm not going to pretend I know what this little squabble was about, but you've gotten the Leagues attention and now you've got some questions to answer."

Manny scoffed. "The heck we do. This ain't our problem this is between you and your sidekicks!"

"Cool it Manny. We do own them an explanation." Said a new older voice.

'Oh great.' "Hey Max." said Kevin dryly. "And how can we help you this fine day."

"Calm down Kevin, it's nothing worse than fighting, which I think you've done a lot of today."

"Wasn't our fault."

Robin stared I what could be described as anger mixed with fear. Not because of Max. Oh no not him. The man standing behind him is what set him off.

"Robin, you have a lot of questions to answer."

Robin glared.

Batman glared harder.

'This is _not _what I expected to come out of this.' Thought Ben. He shifted awkwardly as Starfire almost literally inhaled her food. Food that he had intended for them to share, but he guessed Star had other plans since he hadn't touched any yet and 2/3 of it were gone. Well at least he had his smoothies.

Once Starfire finished, she reached over to where her drinks were, and started drinking rapidly, when she suddenly paused. She stared down at her beverage.

Ben looked up at her, cutting of his own drinking. "What's wrong Kory?"

She eyed the drink for a few more seconds before looking up at him. "Ben, do you…have any mustard?"

Ben blinked. "Um…yeah."

**PLUTON Dictionary: Did you know that in the Ben 10 universe, planets are constantly trading things like spices, foods, tools, and machines. It's true! Just watch the episode **_**Purged. **_**Aliens run shops on Earth as well! The more you know…the less unnecessary flames I'll get.**

Ben passed a large bottle of mustard to Starfire, who squirted a huge amount into her own smoothie. This time when she drank her face showed nothing but bliss.

Ben felt a bead of sweat behind his head. 'Didn't see that coming.' He sighed and hung his head. 'Girls are so weird.' As he looked down he noticed another bottle of mustard next to him. He picked it up and eyeballed it for a few seconds…'Aw what the heck?' He squeezed the mustard into his smoothie and drank.

… 'It's okay. But personal I think this would go better with a meatloaf and lemon smoothie. This ginger and French fry one doesn't do it justice.'

"_BUUUUUUUUURP!"_

Ben's eyes went wide. "Dang! Was it that good Kory!"

Starfire sophisticatedly dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "Yes, thank you! At first I was afraid that there would be no mustard to drink but now I am completely satisfied." She said cheerfully.

"R-really?" Said Ben. "Well that's good to know." He stated somewhat relieved. He sat for a few minutes staring into space.

"Ben, are you alright?" She asked him. "You seem troubled."

Ben's face became serious. He sighed heavily. "Listen Koriand'r…I have to go now."

Starfire's face sank.

"I have something important to take care of before tomorrow." He stood up and began to walk to the door. "Goodnight, I'll be back with your breakfast in the morning." He took three steps before he felt two arms wrap round him from behind. He stopped.

"Goodnight Ben. I hope you feel better." She said into him back.

'Me too Kory…' He stood there for a few more seconds before leaving. He didn't notice the shadow move in the corner or the hallway.

Ben made his way to the communications room. 'I have to call them now.' He thought. 'I may need their support later.' Tomorrow was the trial. He would need all the help he could get.

A/N: Aw. Is that it? Yeah it is. Maybe more on Thanksgiving weekend. I don't have much to say this time around except stay tuned and don't forget…the poll is still up. I promise I'll get right on the trial next time. It's just that I felt like I should show the end of the Titan's fight. It was the right thing to do. I hope you enjoyed, please review, and please bear with me…this is a hobby, I can't do this _every _weekend.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N**__**: Hey readers, I'm back with another chapter of Pride and let me tell you, it took a while to decide how this chapter was going to go. Some of you may be wondering who Ben called at the end of the last chapter, or what happened to the Titans. Well you're about to find out. Oh, and my poll is now over, with 17 votes in the hole. The winner is "Gomu Gomu no Jutsu" (One Piece x Naruto) with 7 votes, second is "Fairy Boy Tail" (Zelda x Fairy Tail) with 4 votes, "Magical Cruise" (One Piece x Fairy Tail) in third with 3 votes, fourth is "Dragon Ball 22" (Dragon Ball Z AU), and sadly in last is "Azure Nightmare" (Percy Jackson x Soul Calibur) which is my favorite of the five. So after this story it'll be "Gomu Gomu no Jutsu" (Gonna change the name) with "Azure Nightmare" as a side story. **_

_**I don't own Ben 10 or Teen Titans. I respect McDuffie too much to claim I do. He's one the few Black cartoon writers I have to look up to.**_

The red haze of the zeta particles floated through Robin's vision for a few seconds before fading away as he found himself in an uncomfortably familiar place. This was the Watch Tower, Headquarters of the Justice League Unlimited.

He looked to his side as Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and three of the Plumbers; Kevin, Gwen, and Max were beamed in as well. He looked forward again, not quite ready to start another fight.

"Good, you all made it safely," Said Superman with a small smile. Batman stood next to him with a not so friendly face, and the two Lanterns stood behind them looking indifferent. "If you'll all follow me to the conference room, we'll get started with our meeting."

"Meeting?" Asked Robin and Kevin at the same time. They glared at each other.

"What meeting?" Asked Gwen ignoring the other two.

"We need to discuss this recent…development between the relations between the Plumbers and the JLU," said Batman. "Not to mention how to deal with the recent fight you had with the Titans."

"This won't go over well with the US government, or the higher ups in the Plumbers organization," Said Max. "Not to mention it's probably all over the internet by now."

Kevin chuckled. "Wonder how many views it's gonna get before the end of the day?"

"Probably over a million, people love seeing superheroes fight each other. At least the nerds do." Said Beast Boy in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah, except there's that possibility people will bet on who won." Kevin said putting his hand to his chin. "We could make some decent money if we finished that fight."

"Dude you're right! Heck, I'd pull a feint if it was that easy!" said Beast Boy. Cyborg bumped him in the head.

"Please, you didn't even fight. If anyone would make anything out of this it'd be me or Raven. Our fights were the best." He said with absolute certainty.

"Beast Boy and Cyborg," Said Raven.

They looked back at her.

"Shut up."

"Yes ma'am."

Kevin chuckled, until he saw Gwen giving him a glowing pink stare.

Robin inwardly seethed. This was going to take a lot of smooth talking, debating, and luck. The last thing he would tolerate is the possible shutting down of his team. He'd…

"Hey," whispered Raven, walking next to him. "We're going to be fine. You don't have to stress out; it's not good for you."

"I know," He whispered back. "But I can't help but think we're not going to get any real answers here."

"Maybe that's asking for too much." She said. "After all these Plumbers are like police, as hard as it is we'll just have to trust that they bring Starfire back."

"But why now?" He hissed. "Why now after all this time would they arrest her for such a trivial reason on such a heavy scale? I have to know." His fist balled up and his fingers dug into his palm. Raven could hear the alloy straining.

She took a deep but quiet breath…and reached out to grab his hand. She felt emotions of slight confusion come from him as his hand relaxed. "We'll be fine. Starfire will come back, and you won't have to be angry anymore." She whispered.

"Raven,"

"In the mean time, try to keep cool okay? I…I don't like seeing you angry. Unlike you, I can see how much you're hurting yourself when you're mad all the time." She said looking up at him.

He nodded.

After a few more seconds, the group crossed into the meeting room of the Justice League.

* * *

><p>Starfire walked through the doors of the court room and the entire space station seemed to go quiet, locking their eyes into her. Her hands were cuffed behind her and she wore a plain black jumpsuit, keeping her from absorbing any solar or celestial energy. Her heavy magnetic boots quietly clinked against the metal floor with every step she took. A neural inhibiter was placed on her head to disrupt her power, leaving her without super strength. At this point in time, she was powerless, completely unable to defend herself with anything outside of sheer will power. Her eyes were locked directly in front of her and she kept her face as plain and proud as possible. She would not give them a reason to look down on her.<p>

"Look at her," whispered someone in the crowd. "She thinks she's so high and mighty."

"I hope that menace is locked up for good, whatever she did must have been terrible."

"Tsk, who cares, as long there's one less of them to deal with."

"That's a Tameranian? Pft, I could beat her easy."

She looked over to an area in front of the room. Ben was there, bent over as if talking to someone and looking up at her every few seconds. Was someone else there? As she came around to the front she saw a girl around Ben's age sitting next to him.

She had wavy blonde hair and green eyes just like Ben's. The jump suit she was wearing was a whitish grey color with a black stripe down the middle, like a Galvan's (Greymatter's Race). She looked directly at Starfire and smiled softly. Apparently she was a friend, so Starfire smiled back.

The Tameranian took her seat between the girl and Ben.

"Hi, my name's Eunice." Said the blonde. "Ben called me here to help him as your attorney. Don't worry we're gonna fix this in no time."

Still too uncomfortable to speak, Starfire nodded.

Ben (who was wearing his Plumber Uniform) took a seat as well. He smiled reassuringly at her before turning his attention to his Ultimatrix and turning the dial a few times. "So how long did you say this would last Eunice?" He asked.

"As long as you're not fighting of using too much energy it should last about a half hour. Once the time runs out," Eunice looked at Starfire. "I'll take over for Ben until it recharges."

Starfire raised her eyebrow slightly. "Why would Ben need to transform in a court room?" Her question was answered as a flash of green light shined next to her."

"**Brain Storm," **Said Benin a plain tone of voice (along with a strange British accent, of all things). The room suddenly grew louder with the combined mumbles and whispers of the awe struck attendees. "With my highly developed intellect we will effortlessly lambaste these illiberal, antipathical, and audaciously repugnant rapscallions without fail." Said the verbally complicated crab.

"…um."

Eunice giggled to herself. "He means that as Brainstorm he'll be smart enough to out argue anyone." She put a hand on Starfire's shoulder. "That is as long as he remembers to stop using so many false limbs."

"False limbs? He requires the use of fake arms and legs?" Asked Starfire.

"Um no. I mean he shouldn't drag out his sentences with unnecessary words." Said Eunice. "Okay Ben?"

"The nerve! Why I have never been so appalled by such a blasphemic and incredibly perfidious statement in all my existence."

"…Um."

"You did it again." Eunice deadpanned.

"…Crass philistine." Huffed Brain Storm, crossing his arms and looking away in a childish manner.

Before another word could be said a large muscular silver-skinned man stepped into the room with a hostile look on his face.

"What the duce is that obtuse lummox doing in a place of delicate liberal resolution?" Asked Brain Storm in a low tone.

"Val-Yor?" Whispered Starfire.

"You didn't know? He's the prosecutor." Said Eunice. "Didn't you read the information I printed for you."

"I…had other avocations to engross myself in."

Eunice gave Ben a look that could split a stone.

"Very well, I had a bit of an intestinal disorder that required an extended period of time in the lavitorial premises. It was not-"

"TMI, Ben."

"Right, I apologies. But if you would be so kind as to inform me of the reasons behind this barbarian's most likely groundless prosecution of Ms. Koriand'r, with drawing her from a planet that neither reins from originally."

"Um Ben, I am not sure what is taking place at the moment due to your…um…fake legs (?), but why is that man here and does it present an issue?" Asked Starfire, who would be scratching her head if it weren't for the handcuffs.

"No time to explain Koriand'r," said Eunice. "Ben, take this folder and learn as much as you can about this case as quickly as possible. It looks like I'll be representing Koriand'r first."

"My apologies dear Eunice." Said Brain Storm taking the folder. "I'll be as quick as possible."

"_Gasp!"_ Starfire's eyes suddenly got wide and she diverted her vision to the floor.

"What's wrong Koriand'r?" Asked Eunice. She looked to where Starfire had been looking before and frowned. "Oh, I see."

Entering behind Val-Yor were two Necrofriggians. They were white with wavy black stripes along their cloaks. They were much taller and thinner than Big Chill, and their faces were wrinkled. Behind them was a shorter younger looking Necrofriggian who looked more like Big Chill, except his color scheme was inverted to blue over black.

"The twins are Cocytus and Borealis," Said Eunice whispering to Starfire. "They're two war veterans and current bishops to the Fifth Necrofriggian Judge of Virtue. They have a lot of political power, and are famous for being violently persuasive.

Starfire gulped. Of course there would be Necrofriggians here. Super heroes had the worst luck.

"The one in the back is Vinter, the youngest and arguably most powerful of the Judge of Virtue's disciples."

"Why would a Judge's disciple need to be powerful?" Asked Starfire nervously.

Eunice frowned in frustration (Not at Starfire). "Well Koriand'r, on Kylmyys (Big Chill's home world) the Judges are not traditional court Judges, but more like the absolute leaders of the Judiciary branch of their government. Police, or in their case the entire military, is under the control of all seven of them. The fifth Judiciary branch is the most politically practiced group, so it's no surprise they'd be sent here." Eunice sighed. "But just the fact that they'd sent such experienced warriors. What could they be planning?"

Starfire's mind was racing with answers to Eunice's question. As princess of Tameran, she was one of the well-trained of her race, and she'd only gotten stronger as a Teen Titan. She was by no means the strongest of her people, as there were far better warriors than her. But the Necrofriggians seemed to be taking extra precautionary measures. Was it because of her? Or maybe…

Ben was scanning his papers as quickly as possible, but heard the whole story. 'So they knew I'd be here huh? They'd better not cause trouble. My fuse is short enough as it is.' Thought Ben. 'I hope the others got my massage. Otherwise I might be in over my head.' Against his will, even though Brain Storm was reading, his mind drifted back to a few weeks ago. 'I have to stay in control; I can't lose my temper again!'

_**Two months ago: **_

"_Ben you're starting to worry me." Said Gwen over the phone. Ben was driving to Julie's house when she called. They hadn't spoken in a few days, so things were a bit awkward._

"_Are you feeling okay? You know you can talk to me if-"_

"_I'm fine Gwen, quit worrying about it. Geez, you act like I'm on drugs or something."_

"_Well excuse me but your well being does concern me."_

_Ben sighed loudly. "Well stop. It's annoying! If I couldn't take care of myself I'd have been dead years ago!" Ben yelled. "Did you call to nag me or did you need something because I'm kind of busy."_

"_Well fine! If me worrying bothers you so much than stop making so many stu- uhg! Never mind!"_

"_Were you going to say stupid!"_

"_Forget it Ben. Its not-"_

"_No I won't forget it, you just called me stupid!"_

"_I was going to say you were making stupid mistakes. There's a difference."_

"_That's what people say to avoid pissing people off. Why are you on my case!"_

"_Why? Because I love you! What is so hard about that!"_

"_If you loved me you'd stop coming to me whining about nothing! Do I look like a-WOAH!"_

_Ben swerved his car to the side as he narrowly missed hitting a tractor trailer. He'd accidentally run a red light. "Freak'n…UGH!" His heart was beating a little faster than normal._

"_Ben? What happed? Are you-"_

"_Don't say it! I'm fine!" He grunted through his teeth. "Just stop calling me okay!" He hung up the phone before she could answer. 'What's wrong with everyone? They worry about me for nothing. I have the Ultimatrix, I win every battle, and I'm tired of fighting the same weirdo's every day! Why can't everyone just go do something else for a change? It's like it's all set up for someone's sick entertainment and there's no off switch!'_

_He finally pulled up to Julie's house. And sighed, letting his head fall against the wheel. 'I'm so tired.' He thought bitterly. 'So tired off all of this. Why is it always up to me to fix everyone else's problems?'_

"_Ben? Are you okay?" Asked Julie sticking her head into the window. "You look tired."She'd walked out to the driveway after seeing him pull in._

_He opened one eye and unconsciously glared at her. "Oh I'm just dandy." He said sarcastically. "I just had a little too much fun with my awesome life."_

"_Wanna talk about it?" Asked Julie sympathetically. She understood him better than anyone after all._

"_That's the exact opposite of what I want." He said. "I just want us to get something to eat," his voice grew softer, and so did his eyes. "And I want us to have fun like a real couple. Is that okay?"_

_She smiled. "Yeah, let's do that." She said. She was about to walk around to the other side when her phone rang. "Hold that thought." She said pulling out her phone. "Hello?"_

_Ben closed his eyes, trying not to look impatient._

"_Hey dad? You done with deliveries yet?" She asked. Her eyes suddenly got wide. "What! That's terrible! Are you okay?" She bit her lip. "The car behind you too? Did you see who it was?" Her face became downcast. "Too dark huh? But you know they ran the light?"_

_Ben began to sweat heavily. This was starting to get uncomfortable. 'Don't tell me…'_

"_Okay, I'll see you when you get home. Bye daddy." She ended the call and walked back over to Ben's window._

"_What happened?" He asked suddenly. His eyes were now wide and almost bloodshot._

"_My dad almost crashed into the back of a tractor trailer not too far from here. He stopped in time, but ended up rear ended."_

"_Is he okay." He asked with a breaking voice._

"_Yeah, luckily he and the guy behind him are just fine, and there was no real damage to the cars, just a fender bender."_

_Ben let out a huge sigh of relief. Julie smiled at him naively._

"_You're sweet for worrying. But I'm gonna have to cancel. My dad needs me to handle the insurance, since his English is a little bad and he doesn't wanna get scammed."_

_Ben looked away from her smile nervously. "Yeah it's fine. I understand." He said quickly. "You do what you have to."_

_She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks Ben."_

_**End Flashback**_

Ben 's mind began to race at that thought. 'I absolutely can't lose my focus. Not even for a second. I can't be responsible for someone else's pain.'

"All rise for the Honorable Judge Marx." Said the stocky Pyronite bailiff.

Everyone stood as a purple humanoid with two thick back flowing antennae wearing a black and gold robe stepped up to the platform.

'Azimuth, please help me. Please get my massage.' Ben repeated this mantra in his head as the court reseated. 'I can't do this alone.'

**A/N: **End scene! That's chapter eight and we finally made it to the freak'n court room. We're one step closer to Starfire's fate, one step closer to the revelation of Plumber's society to the Titans, and one step closer to learning of Ben's fall from glory. It's a hard plot to make any final decisions about, but I think I can manage. Let me know what you think of it, and depending on the reviews, I may or may not post before Christmas.

Oh yeah, Merry Christmas! Because I celebrate CHRISTmas, with a CHRIST in it. And CHRIST, would want me to support my favorite holiday in HIS name…which is CHRIST.

Okay I'm done.

-PLUTON


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N:**__** Yo. I'm back, and what a holiday I had. I got an Xbox 360! On top of that I got Arkham freakin' City! But enough about me, you guys came here for a new chapter so I'll give you one. But before we start, a few quick announcements;**_

_**I recently started a new story. A cross between The Last Air bender, and Soul Calibur, one that I think will do pretty well if you guys do me a solid and read it.**_

_**Thanks to procrastination and Batman, this chapter is a little shorter than usual. My break is over. I'll try to go back to posting every weekend. **_

_**Heads up, I know almost nothing about the court system process. So for now, let's blame the foreign nature of the Milky-Way legal system. And the fact that I'm 16…**_

_**And lastly…Batman Rules!**_

_**I do not own Teen Titans or Ben 10: ultimate Alien.**_

Ben had to be honest with himself, he did not have much confidence in his victory. He didn't know the first thing about the law, or being a lawyer. If Azmuth didn't show up soon…

Who was he kidding. Azmuth is too busy with his own schedule to do anything for anyone else. At least Eunice showed up. Thank God they got over that whole 'I like you but I have a girlfriend' thing. It probably wouldn't have worked anyway because Eunice ages slower than normal humans. Still, that's a pretty big what if.

Starfire on the other hand-Wait that's totally irrelevant. Azmuth needs to be here or this _will_ fail. These were some of the most politically gifted dudes in the freaking galaxy here. Brainstorm was only so smart, he didn't know everything about everything. He glanced over at Starfire, who still had her eyes averted from the Necrofriggians, looking like a scared child.

It infuriated him to think that she was so afraid even though she was so close to him. If any of them tried anything that would hurt her…

'Focus Ben!' he thought to himself. 'Val-Yor protects this solar system along with 26 other systems. He's on constant patrol of any hostile alien activity that could widely affect these systems. The Tameranians had that war around 10 cycles back. 10 cycles is around 20 Earth years. The Plumbers, including Grandpa Max, sided with the Necrofriggians. Um… 'Dang it! What happened next? Where's the info!' Ben was beginning to panic. Brainstorm was supposed to remember! It must be because he transformed so many times.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court," The loud and commanding voice of Val-Yor suddenly boomed throughout the courtroom. "You've been brought here today for two specific reasons. One reason is to properly punish this illegal alien, the Tameranian-"

"Objection," Said Eunice. "Your honor he has no place to say whether or not the defendant will be punished."

Judge Marx nodded. "Val-Yor, refrain from making your own rules in my court."

"Of course sir." Val-Yor said humbly. "Allow me to rephrase the statement." He turned back to the gathered crowed. "One reason is to see that the proper judgment is carried out over the events surrounding the defendant. The Tameranian princess Koriand'r. And the other is to effectively compensate for the damages done to this system and others due to the ineffectiveness of the system's current authoritative forces."

Val-Yor began to pace, like a cliché lawyer in a movie. "As you all may or may not know, the defendant, Koriand'r of Tameran is accused of illegally settling on the planet Earth."

The crowed began to mumble a bit.

"While I'm sure many of you are curious as to why such a miniscule incident would be considered court worthy, let me remind everyone that the defendant is also guilty of escaping imprisonment under the Gordanians." He glared at Starfire from his position across the room. "She was legally imprisoned, as represented by these documents," He held a folder of papers up, " That were signed by both the Gordanian police, and the noble families of Tameran." He handed said documents to the jury. "And when she managed to escape from her lawful imprisonment, she fled to nearby planet Earth. Where she went on a rampage, destroying buildings and structures in a city called Jump."

He let his words linger for a moment.

"Objection!" Eunice nearly yelled. "Records provided by the Earth United States government gave her pardon due to the fact that not only was she disoriented due to _falling through the atmosphere_," she said glaring at Val-Yor with surprising intensity. "She also did not speak the language at the time, nor did she have any means of communicating."

Val-Yor smirked. "You mean communicating that she was an escaped prisoner?"

Eunice's face fell. She'd just walked into an obvious trap.

"As long as we're being honest, why don't I just say for you, that the reason young Koriand'r was thrashing against buildings and vehicles was to free herself from her handcuffs, and that the event itself resulted in several injured citizens." He smirked. "Handcuffs placed upon her by her Gordanian jailers, whom she was originally was within the custody of."

"Objection!" Brain Storm shouted. "Your honor that excessively acrid allegation is both inanely redundant, and has been antecedently inscribed to mitigation."

The judge nodded. "He's right Mr. Val-Yor. Restating addressed information is wasting time."

Val-Yor was trying and failing to suppress a look of distaste. "Very well."

"Also, your time is up." Said Marx. "Take your seat. Ms. Eunice, please step forward."

The two did as they were told.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I feel it is only necessary to acknowledge that while my client Koriand'r is under accusation, she has not been guilty of any previous crimes mentioned by Val-Yor." She stated proudly.

"Koriand'r was in fact a prisoner of the Gordanians, taken right after the Dark-Sun wars." The mention of the war caused everyone to murmur quite loudly.

"Order! Order!" Judge Marx banged his gavel twice and yelled. "Save your comments for when you leave."

Val-Yor stood up. "Your honor if I may, perhaps the Koriand'r party should refrain from mentioning the war, due to the circumstances of her involvement."

Brain Storm glared at him. "Are you suggesting that his honor initiate a decree under a bias standpoint?"

"W-well…"

"I will allow it on both parties." Said Marx. "Please continue Ms. Eunice."

"Thank you your honor," said Eunice. "As I was saying, Princess Koriand'r was signed over to the Gordanians as a prisoner. But more specifically, she was offered to them as a compensational peace offering." She said.

The statement hung in the air for a few moments.

"During the war, the Gordanians captured the planet Tameran the day the treaty to end the war was signed. A little know fact however, is that the Gordanians continued to occupy the planet for several months afterward. In order for them to leave, the Tameranians had to meet a quota of several thousand kilograms (A/N: she's creatively using terms unknown by most aliens to gain sympathy) of tedinite per 6 day period to pay off their war dept. A quota that is nearly impossible to meet even by the richest manufacturers in the galaxy. Let alone an entire planet of war victims."

"Objection!" Yelled Cocytus, the old necrofriggian. His deathly cold breath created clouds of mist around his phantom like head. Everyone in the room fell a little unnerved as the Veteran stood up to his full height. His wrinkled face locked onto Eunice with intensity that seemed almost tangible. Even Val-Yor looked upset, but for an entirely different reason. He was subtly gesturing for Cocytus to sit down.

"**Victims;** is a word conserved for those who suffer, not for those who instigate suffering!" He hissed. Ben was instantly reminded of the sound of a rushing river "The human girl should not be permitted to speak from such a 'bias' stand point." He said looking at Brain Storm. "Especially considering the fact that humans were generally uninvolved with the war itself, but rather its finances." He turned back to the judge. "Finances that the species of this sector demanded be met within an unreachable quota."

Marx nodded once more. "You make a valid point Cocytus; however, it would behoove you to refer to Ms. Eunice as a Galvan." He said. "Surely you know of Azmuth's DNA altering technology."

Cocytus huffed, which sounded like a dam bursting. "Regardless…"

Marx turned to Eunice. "Please continue Ms. Eunice, and refrain from using sympathetic language."

"Of course your honor." Said Eunice with a slight bow. "Koriand'r was given to the Gordanians when they were no longer able to meet the quota, and as a result, the Gordanians left the Planet. However, this technically qualifies Koriand'r as a prisoner of war according chapter 17 of the Galactic Code of Conduct; section 4, subsection 9." She turned to the crowed. "It also states in the next subsection, that any prisoner of war not registered as a Plumber initiated offender is pardoned from any war crimes should they escape or be freed through an outside source."

"Objection! She is referring to a law followed by those under Plumber Jurisdiction!" Yelled Borealis.

"Over ruled! You yourself are implying that this court is void due to the Tameranians being outside our governmental boundary?"

The crowd gasped.

"I didn't think so. Please continue Ms. Eunice."

"Thank you your honor. It is also a truth, that a citizen of Earth freed Koriand'r from her handcuffs after she legally escaped custody. Heavily implying that she was welcomed onto the planet and assisted in parallel to the article mentioned forehand and matching the pardon given to her by the United States government."

"Your time is up Ms. Eunice."

"Thank you." She said, as she strode back to her seat proudly. She winked at Brain Storm just as he looked up from typing something on a holo-pad. A bright flash of green light consumed him before he became human once again. He smiled and gave her a 'thumbs up'.

When Ben sat back down he looked over at Starfire…who still looked unhappy. Understandable given the circumstances but why was she still looking at the floor. Her head was still up but she wouldn't meet his eyes at all.

"Kory? You alright?" He whispered. "You need some water or something? Cause I can get…"

"No thank you." She said suddenly with a half smile. "I am fine really." She put her hands up on defense and laughed nervously.

Ben raised an eyebrow but decided to let it go until later.

"This case will continue in 6 hours, in the meantime everyone please rest and prepare your witnesses." He banged the iron gavel. "Court Postponed."

**A/N: **I can understand your frustration over its shortness, especially considering my absence, but like I said, my break is over and I'm back into the story.

So please feel free to leave your messages of judgment.

Next time we check back in with the Titans and the Plumbers, and Ben gets a little one to one with the young Necrofriggian Vinter. Is it just an innocent confrontation, or does he know something about Cocytus and Borealis?

-DPB


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: **__**Welcome to the next chapter of Pride. Wow, you would not believe the week I've been having. I am now 17 and on Spring Break. The good news is I have plenty of time to write, the bad news is that I have to postpone my One Piece x Naruto story because I haven't finished this one. I'm not one to rush, so this will likely have at least 3-5 more chapters before I end it, and if this does well enough I may write a sequel. Unless it stands well enough on its own, then I'll move on. **_

_**However in exchange for this chapter I ask that you review…and listen to this short rant about alien stories.**_

_**Ahem. Why is it that whenever I read stories with inhuman characters like vampires, Saiyans, and various aliens that involve romance, the in-human always goes into heat like an animal? Really! In some cases it's funny and adds to the comedic sexual tension. Other times its gross and lustful. And what's with inhumans calling their wives their 'mate'? What, now all inhumans are un-marital beasts. **_

_**That's not in this story! The way I see it, Tameranians are weird both biologically and psychologically. But they're not animals. I only say this because a friend suggested I use these elements and seemed puzzled at my reasons why not.**_

_**Well I'm done. Thanks for listening.**_

_**Please don't be surprised by Ben's slight OOC-ness, remember the title, and why he's in this situation in the first place.**_

_**Now! Back to the story!**_

Ben and Starfire walked quickly down the hallway, determined to reach her cell uninterrupted. Eunice was a few steps behind typing something on her holo-pad. The one thing all of them had in common was the drained look on their faces. That trial lasted what? An Hour? Sure it wasn't finished but the tension was draining. It didn't seem like it would ever end. Like the mistakes they made would determine the rest of their lives. Well, for Starfire it would, but she didn't say a word the whole time.

Ben looked over at her once again. _"Yep, she's still looking at the floor." _He thought sarcastically. _"The least she can do is talk. I mean how am I supposed to help her if she doesn't say anything?" _He rolled his eyes at the thought. He could tell she was hiding something from him and it was getting on his nerves. Why couldn't she just let him help? He said he would look out for her and all of a sudden she can't say anything?

Oh if only it were that simple.

Starfire's troubles were not something that could be verbalized. Seriously, how do you explain a phobia? The fear of skeletal gazes, of cold breaths, invisible killers, and shadow-less phantoms? How do you say those things in the presents of the enemy? If she learned anything from working under Robin as a Titan, it's that individual fears mean nothing in the grand scheme. The situation would not change because she was afraid of it.

So the three continued to walk in uncomfortable silence. Now may be a good time to analyze the situation as a viewer. Or we could leave it to Eunice, who was looking carefully at the two and, thanks to her genius, could read them like a book. She rolled her eyes at them.

"_Ben continues to be a hero, even when he doesn't have too. He gets like this too often, and I barely see him. He sees everyone who can't fight as an inferior who needs his help. A god complex bestowed upon him by the 'great' Azmuth. It might endanger the Universe but sometimes I think he should just get rid of the thing." _Her gaze traveled over to Starfire.

"_And Koriand'r…" _Eunice sighed softly. _"I guess I can't really blame her. Her entire race suffers the same problems." _It was no mystery to Eunice that Starfire's thoughts dictated her entire existence, as with all Tameranians.

Eunice knew a Tameranian's power depended entirely on their state of mind. If they have joy, they can fly. If they are like Starfire and Blackfire (they're special cases) righteous fury lets them shoot starbolts. Boundless confidence grants super strength. She also noticed that it is state of mind, not emotion, from which these powers originate. After all the missions Starfire has worked through with her powers active, her forced state of mind is likely to have had an effect on her psyche.

Eunice finished or documentation and folded holographic tablet. _"These two need professional help." _She thought.

When they finally reached the cell-block no one moved for another several seconds.

"Um…"

"You gonna open the door Ben?" Said Eunice.

"Huh?" He muttered, snapping back to reality. "Oh yeah sure, sure." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key.

Starfire walked into her cell and immediately sat on the small bed. The neutral expression never left her face.Ben stood there in the door for a few more seconds before turning around slowly, and then leaving the cell block. Starfire and Eunice were alone now.

"So," said Eunice trying to start a conversation. "Can I get you anything? Food, water, pillows-"

"I am fine. I just wish to be alone now." Said Starfire.

Eunice gave dead pan expression. "Really? Do I look unintelligent to you Koriand'r?"

"What?"

"You're obviously upset, and I can tell by your body language that you're lying about being alone. If you need something than ask for it, or at least learn how to lie." Said Eunice. "You can't really expect Ben to help you if you just sit in the corner like a sad little girl."

"I…" Starfire bit her lip.

"You're a super hero, and a great one at that. I've read your files." Eunice softened her expression. "I know this is hard for you, but dispite Ben's…weaker qualities, he's your best bet right now." She walked into the cell and sat on the bed next to Starfire. She placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to talk to Ben okay? And after I do you should tell him exactly what you want him to do for you."

Starfire smiled slightly. "Okay. I will talk to Ben when he returns."

Eunice smiled widely. "Good. And remember. You're a hero just like him. Don't feel like you have to be the victim when he's around. I've been there and it doesn't help." Eunice stood up and was about to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Asked Starfire, in a noticeably cheerier mood.

"To organize the witness documents," she said. "But as long as I'm out," She looked over her shoulder at the Tameranian. "Need anything?"

Ben walked down the hall in a frustrated pattern. He stood up straight but his eyes were locked on the floor. He didn't pay much attention to the people that got in his ay, forcing them to step to the side as he stormed through the corridors of the space station.

"_Un-freaking-believable," _he thought. _"It try to do the right thing and what? She shuts herself off like a scared child! And for what?" _He grumbled to himself. _"Every time I try to do my job someone has to change the plan. No doubt I'm gonna get blamed if something goes wrong…"_

Ben suddenly stopped and stared into space for what seemed like hours. If his vocabulary was advanced enough he would have realized he had an epiphany.

"What's _wrong _with me!" He practically yelled.

"You want a list?" Said a familiar female voice from behind him.  
>"Oh, hey Eunice," He said blushing a bit after realizing how loud he'd been. "What are you doing here?"<p>

"We're partners Ben." She said dryly. "I came to ask what you were doing here. This isn't the cafeteria. Or did you forget that Koriand'r needed to eat something too?"

Ben looked at the ground shamefully. "Right. I'm sorry I just…"

"You just forgot that a girl who put her life in your hands may need to eat dinner today?" She said poking him in the chest.

Ben scratched the back of his head. "You're right, I'll take care of that right-"

"Don't bother, I already took care of it." She said crossing her arms and looking away. "Now," She narrowed her eyes at him. "What horrible mistake did you actually realize you made this time Mr. Save-the-day-lose-the-girl?"

Ben sighed. "I just realized that I was angry over something stupid." He didn't continue.

"Do you want me to read your mind Ben?" Eunice said.

"No!" He said defensively. "I mean, between me and Starfire earlier…I was…Being a jerk for no good reason?"

"Wrong."

"I should've respected her space?"

"Wrong."

"I…should have…been more positive?" He said with a forced grin. Eunice flicked him in the forehead. "Ow."

"You're hopeless Ben. As much as I'd love for you to figure this out on your own I'll have to use my psychosis powers on you?" She said face palming.

"Your what powers?"

"Ben, why were you upset earlier?" Asked Eunice.

"Because Starfire wouldn't let me talk to her." He said in a matter of fact voice.

"And why does that upset you? Because you feel her pain?"

He looked off the side. "Well…"

"Because as cute as you are, you're not that cute." She smirked. "You were upset because she didn't respond to your kindness."

"I don't follow." Ben half lied.

"It's pretty obvious Ben. You hate when people don't respond positively to your kindness, which is normal. But you take it a step further by _expecting _praise."

"What? I do not!" Ben protested. "I just hate when people act sad for no reason." He crossed his arms.

Eunice glared at him. "She's on trial! Ben whenever people don't give you credit; thanks, praise, respect, or anything else you think you deserve for your admittedly heroic efforts, you take offence."

Ben stayed silent and continued to frown.

"You're too arrogant Ben! People don't make the problem about you just because you wear a fancy watch!" Her breath was starting to get heavy from raising her voice. "You can't just assume responsibility for everything just because you're the strongest guy around!"

"Aren't you getting a little off topic?" Said the Ben dryly. He'd already had enough of this conversation.

Eunice's face was turning red with frustration. "Oh for the love of-" She crossed her arms in a huff. "Look, here's the short version:"

"You, Ben Tennyson, are so arrogant thanks to that stupid Ultimatrix that even when your better qualities like your morality and willingness to take responsibility come into play you want someone to pat you on the back for doing what I'm assuming your parents raised you to do in the first place." She took a long breath. "Not only that, but whenever you try to help someone you view them as a victim who can't take care of themselves. Something pretty much everyone you've ever met has proven wrong." She took one more breath. "I could go on all night about this but right now there is a young women who wants, not needs, wants you to help her overcome one of the greatest challenges she has ever faced because she trusts you to bring her through it, and you left because she was too upset to talk to you? Are you that self centered!"

Ben's eyes were covered by his hair but his mouth remained plain. "I…I just wanted her to tell me what was wrong so I could fix it." He said quietly. "I wanted her to feel better."

Eunice sighed heavily and gave Ben soft look, she put her hand on his shoulder. "Wanna know the secret to helping a woman Ben?"

She almost laughed at how quickly his face perked up. "What? What is it?"

She smiled. "Don't solve the problem."

…"What?"

"Sometimes all you need to do is be there to comfort her, and listen when _she _wants to talk. In fact, she's probably not going to ask for anything directly."

…"What?"

"You'll figure it one day." She stated positively.

"I doubt it."

This time she did laugh. "Just make sure you take care of the girl that needs you right now. Koriand'r is a strong woman. But she has problems like everyone else."

Ben sighed. "I can't believe I left her like that. I should've realized…"

"Well in your defense she wasn't making it very obvious." Eunice grabbed his hand. "Come on, I promised her you'd talk to her soon. I'm holding you to that too."

"Wait." Said Ben. "I…uh…well I gotta…you know?" He said gesturing down the hall.

"Oh." Eunice laughed. "You must've been agonized hearing me talk while you had to go."

"I was agonized for an entirely different reason." Joked Ben, which got him a playful punch in the arm.

A few minutes later Ben was making his way back to Eunice and Starfire when a sharp noise caught his attention in the empty corridor. It sounded mechanical, and was followed up by a loud scraping sound.

The noise left as soon as it came and once again the hall was only filled with the sound of humming generators and buzzing lights.

Ben wouldn't be fooled by that. He turned the dial of the Ultimatrix and activated it with a green flash.

"**Ghost-Freak!**"

The ectonurite whispered (not like he had to try that hard) and vanished from this plain of visibility. He glided along the ground of the hall where he heard the noise. Now that he was getting closer he could hear what sounded like talking. Or rather, like someone who was trying to whisper. He could see a soft red light coming from a door at the end of the hall.

"_Boiler room huh?" _He thought. _"How quaint." _In case you're wondering, no, he doesn't know what quaint means. He didn't care though, as he phased through the door and into the room. Inside was exactly what you'd expect from a Plumber issued high tech boiler room. Just imagine what it would look like in your favorite 80s movie.

"_I wonder what that noise was. Nobody other than Participants in the trial are allowed on this floor at this hour…" _That's when it hit him. "Oh man!"

Before he could react a huge blast of blue vapor shot over his body causing freezing him in a chunk of ice.

The frost in the ice was so thick he couldn't see, but thanks to the nature of Ghost-Freak's power he could stay conscious. _"Figures this would happen right before I got to Kory." _He thought bitterly. _"I have to get to her before they try to-_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMP!" That was all Vinter could hear outside the block of ice as he placed his particle disrupter against the side of the frozen structure. He didn't know much about Ectonurites but he knew that, like most species that turned intangible, they needed to displace their particles to do so.

"Pretentious fool." He said. "Once you're out cold I merely need to toss your prison into the generators, you'll be vaporized in seconds."

The young Necrofriggian scoffed. "This is what happens to those who live amongst trash. Royalty or not, Koriand'r will continue her mission."

_END OF CHAPTER 10_

_**A/N: **_Cliffhanger! Next chapter is Actiony!

Oh God it's done! I need a feak'n nap man who would've guessed at how complicated this chapter was going to be. It's not even that long but ugh!

Well at least it's done. Now I can actually focus on going back to school.

I got my driving permit so now I can drive legally, you can imagine how much of my week that took up.

And now all I request is that you review my story. And if you're interested in Dragon Ball Z stories, check out my profile to see a few more I wrote.

That's all for now…Later.

-PLUTON


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **_**I'm very sorry for making you wait so long, and I completely understand if you have moved on and no longer care for this story. To my dedicated readers: I am so grateful for your support. In fact it was those supports that lead me to begin writing my own original novel, which is part of the reason I've been so busy away from fan fiction. But that's water under the bridge now. Please enjoy this chapter, and let me know if the quality is less than what you've come to expect.**_

_**P.S.: Because I have been away from this site for so long, consider all of the un-started stories on my profile page as challenges, since I will very likely never write them. I'll post them as such later but feel free to look ahead. If you accept, PM me so I can follow it when you start.**_

Vinter held the badge like particle disrupter against the block of ice for only 25 seconds, least he destroy the prison he'd created. Not that it mattered, as Tennyson was likely in so much agony that it seemed like hours. During that time he looked around, and managed to locate what appeared to be a large red reactor, the size of a plumber issue space craft.

To the average human it would appear to be a furnace containing a dull red fire, but Vinter knew the energy within was beyond nuclear. Halting his torture he secured the device onto a nearly invisible black case within his cloak, unfurling his wings, and lifting the block over his head with one arm. Necrofriggians may be skeletal, but weak they are not.

He hovered towards the reactor and chuckled humorlessly, his laugh like the crunching of sleet and snow. "In the end, all it took was a basic ambush to take down the mighty Ben Tennyson. To think that the Ultimatrix could belong to such a fool." He whispered to no one. He reached out his free hand to open the hatch at the top of the massive machine…

When a blast of yellow energy shot him in the side.

"Hrah!" He cried out in pain and the block of ice slipped from his hand and fell to the floor of the room, causing it to crack in several places.

He looked to the direction of the shot, and discovered that it had come from a small laser pistol barely bigger than the hand of the girl who was wielding it. A human girl to be exact.

"Your plan was pretty well thought out." Eunice said with clear and professional malice. Her glare meets his quickly, but she was clearly afraid. Her hands were shaking, and her skin was perspirating. "You shut down every security obstacle in this section of the building without alerting the rest of it. Not only that," She looked down to where the ice block had fallen. "You managed to catch Ben pretty easily."

Vinter was not the least bit intimidated. He was more concerned with whether or not she had alerted security than what she could do with a tiny hand gun. Although it hurt more than he'd expected. "How did you know I'd be here human? Did you know where he'd be?"

Eunice smirked, although very half heartedly. "Ben and I have very similar abilities. I was able to sense where he was the moment he activated the Ultimatrix. And in case you're wondering, security is already on their way here. They have quite a ways to go since the ones you took out are nowhere to be found."

Vinter sighed. "Then I will take my leave." He turned intangible and leaped towards the ceiling at an alarming rate, but was shot by another burst of yellow energy dispite his phantom like powers.

"UGH!" He cried as his organs convulsed and his head buzzed. "What is this?" He managed to yell when he was bombarded with more expertly aimed shots from Eunice. He could feel gravity begin to drag him down as his body felt as though it was gaining more weight. He could not phase through the shots nor could he clear his head enough to dodge them. Before he knew it he knew it he was on his hands and knees on the floor.

"My particle disrupter is a bit more weaponised than yours Vinter." Said Eunice with her voice gaining more confidence now that she held the power. "That should keep you pinned until the security arrives. I think it's safe to say you just ruined your case."

"As if…I care about…that…" Vinter shuddered out. "My task…is nearly complete." Vinter's arm suddenly shot out, and an icicle pierced the barrel of Eunice's gun, causing her to drop it in shock. Vinter lunged at the distracted girl and pinned her to the floor. In the struggle, Eunice grabbed his arm with her own hands.

He shook her off and froze her arms against the ground. The ice slowly began creeping over her when her body became like blue vapor and she phased into the ground.

"WHAT!" He shouted in frustration. "How is she able to-" He suddenly jumped straight into the air just as Eunice's fist came from below his midsection. She flew straight at him, only to be caught by the wrist and have her arm twisted behind her. Vinter used his power to push her straight into the ceiling before she could become intangible again.

Thanks to her knew found durability she did not suffer injury, but then she was immediately flung to the floor. She used her powers to catch herself before she hit the ground, but then heard a heavy exhaling sound followed by a sharp whistling. As she turned she barely managed to phase through the rain of icicles that impaled the floor beneath her.

Vinter then dove at her once more, this time with a three foot shard of ice in his right hand. With his left hand around her throat he slammed her against the wall, he willed his power over hers and she began to phase out of her intangibility.

"How are you doing this?" She grunted through clenched teeth.

"I am a trained warrior. You are a scientist." He raised the shard until it was just at the base of her ribs. "Dispite your abilities, you know nothing of the true potential of Necrofriggians. And now-"

Just as he began pressing the blade into Eunice's skin a black and purple tentacle wrapped around his arm. The next second three more wrapped around his other limbs and two more around his waist. He was yanked back and Eunice fell to the ground, landing on her feet.

Vinter tried to break free and phase out but sharp pain shot into his back accompanied by a pink light. The tentacles released and what he assumed was a beam began pressing him into the wall and seconds later he dropped to the floor with this back scorched. _'How am I burned?' _He thought through his intense pain, with good reason considering Necrofriggians could survive in lava. Looking up his eyes widened as the ectonurite sucked the extra limbs back into its body.

"H-how did you-"

"You took too long." Ghost freak hissed. "By the way Eunice, thanks for stalling him."

"Right, stalling." Said Eunice rubbing her hurting throat.

Vinter struggled to his feet looking back and forth between his two opponents. Deciding to take care of Ben first he once again drew the particle disrupter from his cloak.

Ben raised his hand towards Vinter and a blue glow began to surround his fingers. He concentrated on the device in the young Necrofriggian's hand yanked it into mid-air with his telekinesis.

There it floated until Vinter leaped at it, only for it to be flung back at his face and suddenly activated. His entire body convulsed in agony as the orange and yellow sparks shot through-out his body. Seconds later he fell to the floor in a heap.

Exhausted, Eunice fell to her knees and put a hand to her bleeding side. "G-good job-b-b-Ben." She stuttered.

The Ectonurite floated down and landed beside her. In a flash of green light a shivering Ben, covered in frost put a hand on her shoulder. "Y-y-y-you all-r-r-light?" He asked, stuttering for an entirely different reason.

She smiled and nodded. "It'll heal in a few minutes." She nearly whispered. "What do we do with him?"

Before Ben could answer the door to the boiler room burst open and nearly a dozen guards rushed in holding laser lances. "Freeze! Everyone put your hands up, and don't move a muscle!"

Ben a Eunice did as they were told. "T-t-these t-two n-n-need medic-c-cal at-t-t-t-attention." Ben said struggling to move his arms above his head.

BEN10BEN10BEN10

Robin leaned against the wall outside of the door of the Justice League conference room with his arms crossed over his chest. He sighed heavily in relief as he had done several times that day already. Dispite his harsh moral upbringing as Batman's partner the Dark Knight had been less than merciful. Dispite his obvious grounds to do so (as much as Robin hated to admit) the Titans themselves were being pardoned for their "attack" on the Plumbers and their base thanks to the consideration of Max Tennyson.

As much as Robin appreciated that he wasn't being disciplined by an openly judgmental authority he didn't like that his act of investigation could have been considered a federal offence. Although looking back he could see why everyone seemed so disappointed in him. Frowning, he went over the list once more in his head.

He attacked an alien military officer. In retrospect that never works out well for anyone, heck even Beast Boy knew that.

He resisted arrest. Even though it wasn't his crime he prevented Starfire from being arrested which was pretty stupid since she asked him to trust her and he basically acted on his lack of trust of anyone's abilities other than his own.

He sought out an officer with a criminal record with the intension of fighting him, dispite his lack of knowledge of the situation.

And worst of all he got his team involved dispite their protests.

Because of this Robin was feeling a bit anxious about his pardon from Max Tennyson. When people committed crimes punishment was in order. That's the way he'd been taught. He didn't feel right walking away from this. It left him asking too many questions about what was really going on. He was so deep in thought he didn't see the hooded girl float up to him until she was resting against the wall with him.

"You seem stressed." Raven said softly. "You're not still thinking about what Batman said are you?" She asked dispite knowing the answer.

"Of course I am." He said looking at the ground. "Dispite what happened I can't help but wonder whether what he said was even necessary. Or maybe it was more than necessary, and I just didn't like being humiliated in front of all of those other people."

"You weren't the only one." She said with her own frown deepening a little. "Even though what you did was foolish it's not like he has the right to treat you like a child, you're seven-teen."

"No Raven, it's not that simple." He sighed. "You know he used to be my mentor, but there's a side to him you don't know about. He's not the type to let things like this go. He's gonna be all over us from this point forward." He said clenching his fist. "I messed things up for all of our fellow Titans. Anyone with a criminal record might be looking at serious consequences for unpunished crimes."

Raven rolled her eyes. "And where was he when you defeated Slade?" She said. "He knows how much good you've been doing yet he only wants to acknowledge your mistakes?" She paused to let the sentence sink in. "You're not some child going out into the world for the first time. You've been a good leader to us for years and dispite the mistakes you've made before we've all forgiven you. You never held anything against us either."

"He doesn't see it that way." Robin said. "It's pretty black and white with him. He considers himself the grey area." He put his hand to his chin and sighed again.

"Okay, stop that." Raven said irritably. "Seriously if you sigh one more time I'm going summon a fungus from another dimension and place it in your underwear drawer."

Dispite the horrifying thought Robin smirked a bit.

"You need to stop feeling so sorry for yourself." She said putting a hand on his shoulder. "We know you would do anything to protect Starfire, and anyone of us. You just made a bad call."

"I made a lot of bad calls."

"Boo-hoo. I stayed on Earth for years knowing that the Eighth Devil of Hell, My father, was coming to destroy everything including you and the others. But all you cared about was saving everyone." Raven turned herself to face him and turned his body to face her. "You teamed up with a man you hated, who you knew was responsible for the death of hundreds of people, who manipulated you and us on several occasions, and who made you question your morality. You saved the world Robin. Did that ever occur to you?"

"No." He said bluntly, looking away from her. "I never even considered that."

"Why? Do you even care that you saved everyone on the planet from _eternal damnation_? Not to mention the demons Trigon sent to other planets. That's a big deal." She said in disbelief. "Even though it was my fault you-"

"It wasn't your fault."

"You know what I mean." She grumbled. "Under you leadership the world…no…the Universe was saved. If you can't acknowledge that how can you expect him to?"

"I didn't do all that stuff to save the world, or the galaxy or the universe or anything like that."

Raven's eyes widened a bit. "Then why-"

"All I was concerned about was saving you." He said looking her in the eyes. His voice was quieter than normal. Raven could sense he was getting very nervous.

"I…okay…" She stuttered a bit. She felt her body tense up as she felt his hand pull the hood from her head. "I-I always thought that…" She didn't seem to notice that they were unconsciously leaning closer to each other.

"Raven," Robin whispered. "I don't want you to think-" She placed a hand behind his head and pulled him closer. Robin had already forgotten what he was going to say.

Just as she was closing her eyes, and she felt his lips touch hers…

_***BOOOOOOOOOM***_

Robin and Raven jumped in surprise at the explosion. "What was that?" He said looking around, and instinctively reaching for a belt that was no longer there.

"It came from inside the conference room." Raven said pulling her hood back up. She was feeling extremely embarrassed after what almost happened.

Robin was just opening the sliding door as Superman and Flash suddenly appeared behind them.

"What happened, we heard an explosion." Superman said in a surprisingly even tone. Robin the two teen heroes had just stepped into the room only to find the table and chairs thrown everywhere. Nothing seemed to be broken, or even burned but it almost looked like a tornado hit the room. Against the wall two men were grumbling as they picked themselves up.

"Okay, that was different." Said Max rubbing his already sore back. "What was that some kind of security measure."

"No." Grumbled Batman. "It wasn't." He picked himself up easily and turned directly to Robin. "Any ideas Robin?"

"No, I don't know what it was." He said with a tinge of malice. "Although I was getting tired of waiting outside." He turned and began walking back outside. "If you two are done talking I'd like to speak to my team now."

"No, we need to discuss-"

"Do we really?" Robin said. "Is it necessary to drag this out any further?" Before he could continue flash stepped in front of him.

"Um, no offence kid but you did start this." He said condescendingly.

"That's not true." Max said in a very calming tone. "This conflict started because of a series of misunderstandings in such a short time period. If anything it's my fault."

Before anyone could say anything the Titans, Plumbers, Gwen and Kevin suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Grandpa?"

"Dude what happened?"

"Quit pushing man."

"I can't help being this big."

"Yeah dude, give Cyborg a break."

"I think that was Manny."

"Who?"

"Are someone's clothes burning?"

"Sorry."

"Who's breathing on my neck."

"Probably Gwen."

"Kevin!"

Batman slammed his hand against the wall. "Quiet!"

Robin sighed in annoyance. If the Justice League knew anything about teenagers, it's that putting them in the same room for 3 hours will result in lots of noise.

**20 minutes later:**

Raven sat by herself on one of the many sofas in the lounge of the Watch Tower. Sighing to herself she thought back to what almost happened with Robin. Not only were they cut off, but know she had to endure the awkwardness that was sure to follow for the next several days.

So wrought was she with internal conflict she didn't sense the massive source of magic approaching her from behind until the very last second. Instinctively she jumped from her seat and floated straight into the air, her eyes glowing and looking down at the deceptively average teenaged red head below her.

"Um, hi?" Gwen said awkwardly.

Raven floated back down and folded her cloak back over her body, she let the hood cast it's mask like shadows over her eyes in her best (and very effective) attempt at looking intimidating. To Gwen's credit, she was only mildly uncomfortable. It was one thing to stare down an opponent, but all she wanted was to talk.

"I wanted to ask you a question about what happened earlier." Gwen said in her nicest voice.

"I was just a misunderstanding. I wasn't actually trying to hurt you or anyone else." Raven said plainly.

Gwen unconsciously rubbed the back of her head. "Um, actually I meant what happened in the room upstairs." To Gwen's surprise, the shadow over Raven's face seemed to expand slightly as she tried to hide an otherwise obvious blush. Then she sensed it again. Raven's magic slowly began seeping out of her body, the room started to vibrate as though there were a loud sound coming from beneath it. Cautiously, Gwen continued. "I felt a burst of dark magic in the room upstairs, and when I got there everything was-"

"It was me." Raven said looking away.

"How? Was it a control thing?"

"No…It's just," Raven took a deep breath to calm herself. "Whenever I experience intense emotion my powers sort-of…slip out." She said without looking at Gwen. "That's all."

"Oh." Gwen said in a way that suggested she already knew that. "What happened specifically?"

"I don't really see how it's your business." Raven hissed.

"I know, I know…I just thought that maybe, we could help each other out." She said nervously.

"What could you possibly need my help with. You seem powerful enough." Raven said as she contemplated leaving the alien enchantress and heading to the cafeteria.

"I noticed that you use…I don't know…some kind of chant to keep your powers under control, and I was hoping…"

"That I could teach it to you?" Raven finished for her.

"Yeah, that."

"And you wanted to know about what happened upstairs because you were curious as to why I didn't use it then?" She added.

"That too." Gwen said as she nodded.

Raven took a deep breath and turned back to Gwen. "Honestly, I'm not sure if I can help you." She said in a surprisingly calm voice. "You seem to have plenty of control without it and honestly what happened before was just a hereditary fluke." Raven then pulled her hood back and looked directly at Gwen. "Why would you need a control spell?"

Gwen put her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. "Well," She stopped and looked away a little. "Whenever I get angry, like _really _angry…my body gets overtaken by my internal energy." She stopped rocking and looked Raven in the eyes. "Every time I lose control I get closer and closer to losing my physical body. By the time I become powerful enough to make a new one that can sustain my full power I'd be a whole different person." She brought her thumbs together and twiddled them unconsciously. She wasn't very comfortable telling this to people she barely knew. "Not to mention decades will likely have passed on Earth.

Raven, to her credit, managed to keep her shocked face within character and shook it off in a few seconds. "I see. Well if you must know the spell I was taught is purely meditative. It requires internal serenity and is designed to draw power from the soul, or suppress it. It might actually make things worse in your case since you're trying to keep your body and soul the same."

"I see." Gwen said, trying to keep dejection beneath her professionalism.

"…but, I might be able to help you a different way. Are you familiar with meditation?"

BEN10BEN10BEN10

Starfire sat in her cell alone. She was curled up on top of the uncomfortable metal platform bed with a thin mattress and a single thin pillow. The room itself was quiet put the asylum like babbles of the other inmates made the lonely room seem haunted. The innocent people that found themselves here must feel so betrayed by society. Much like how Starfire felt.

She also felt more alone than she'd felt in years, as her friends were light years away and the two new friends she had made were likely very angry with her. Her family, her deceased parents and brother, and incarcerated sister could not be here and the people of Tameran probably did not even know she was here.

But she wouldn't cry yet. Not until she could apologize to Ben. As long as he was her friend again she wouldn't have to cry. No sooner had she thought this did the door to her cell open.

Her first instinct was panic, for she was sure that some other jailer had been assigned to her and this one would be far worse than the other to other two. But as she looked up all she felt was elation.

"Ben!" She shouted as ran up to him, stopping as soon as she saw his head looking down and realized how mad he might be. "Friend Ben, I am very sorry about how I treated you. I should not have ignored your kindness. Please…" Before she could even utter another sentence she caught site of something that made her emotions run rampant. Ben was crying.

Before she could ask what was wrong he embraced her and held her body against his. He felt unusually cold, but Starfire's sun powered warmth overtook it instantly.

"B-Ben?"

"I'm so sorry Koriand'r." He said in a horse voice. "I'm sorry I was so selfish, and that I treated you like child." He stopped and forced himself to hold back a sob. "All I care about right now is getting you home again. That's all I'm going to focus on. Just _please _forgive me. I know I don't deserve a friend as loyal and caring as you but I'm _begging _you. Please forgive me."

The complete shock that had overtaken Starfire began to settle as she realized what was happening. Ben Tennyson, a Magister of the Plumbers, and one of the most powerful beings in the known universe was begging for her forgiveness on a simple argument. What Starfire didn't know was the Ben's immediate assumption after fighting Vinter was that he was being distracted while someone attacked her, and he'd ran all the way back here to make sure she was okay.

The room was quiet a little too long for Ben's own emotional security, until he heard-

"EEEE!" And found himself in a spine breaking hug and being swung back and forth like a little girls rag doll.

"!" She squealed with joy.

"Glad to hear it." Ben said dispite his collapsing lungs. Even though the moment was strange he felt a something right then (it wasn't his bones breaking) that made him feel different about Starfire. She wasn't like humans, who held onto emotions dispite moving on. It seemed Starfire had completely changed her view of her situation. And Ben thought he might as well too. She was going home, whether he had to win this case or take her home himself.

BEN10BEN10BEN10

**A/N: **Well…..that was nice wasn't it. The next Chapter focuses more on the next half of the case. But it seems more happened on this night than anyone could have predicted. Not even Ben could pull a Deux ex Machina in this plot twist. And what happened to Vinter? What about Gwen and Raven? Did Starfire get enough mustard? Did Beast Boy get the chicken pox?

You'll have to wait and find out!

You know; I really liked how this turned out. Especially the way I tied Ben and Starfire's scene with Raven and Robin's. And look Raven and Robin had a scene! Where Raven acknowledged the fact that if the Titans hadn't defeated Trigon he would have concord the universe. Or at least gotten pretty close. Take that Ben!

And yes, Gwen and Raven will have further interaction later on. I'll try to post again by next Saturday.

P.S: I want Ben 10 Omniverse to come out already! Want…new…Omnitrix.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: ****Incoming chapter! Slow your heart, this is a real chapter and not some crumby author's note saying the story is cancelled. It's a little late but I think you'll be pleased with the results. I decided to make this chapter a deep interaction between Ben and Starfire, can't give them one of those generic relationships where all they ever do is stare longingly into each other's eyes and think about how beautiful/perfect the other is. This is purely character interaction.**

**Some of the DC history has been altered in accordance to the crossover but Starfire's back story is true. I did research this stuff.**

**Do you ever get that feeling when writing, where you suddenly just want to stop and ask yourself why you're spending so much time with a seemingly pointless thing? But then later you start back up again and wonder why you stopped writing when it's so much fun?**

**Four hours before trial:**

After finally getting a newly revived and giddy Starfire to put him down Ben couldn't seem to get the smile off of his face, and every once in a while Starfire would let out a squeal or a laugh (she even started dancing once). The two friends were not just happy to see each other, they were overjoyed.

Ben realized how rare it was for him to feel this way, especially in recent times. Deciding he wanted the moment to last he sat himself on Starfire's bed and gestured for her to sit next to him. Although this may not have been the best chose of actions, as she was causing the bed to bounce with her.

"Hey Koriand'r," Ben asked looking at the wall ahead of them. "What's it like being with the Teen Titans?"

Starfire continued to bounce, which Ben was starting to think was a substitute for floating around. "It's wonderful! My friends and I are very close. There is Raven; she likes dark and mysterious things, reading, and even though she does not speak much she is very caring for us."

"How so?" Ben asked curiously.

"Well at first she did not seem to like me because I was "too loud" but later we had to work together to save our other friends and she has been like my sister ever since. She shows me how to meditate and master my powers in certain circumstances, and shares some of her secrets with me." She said the last part with a whisper. "She gives great advice to us when we are at our most vulnerable and once she tried to cook for us. I do not think the others liked her pancakes but I did." She said remembering the crunchy-runny "food." "And then there is Beast boy; he is very funny although I do not think his jokes amuse most people. He is very much like a brother to me, and he and I have had many fun adventures."

"Cyborg is like Beast Boy in many ways. They share similar interests but Cyborg is extremely intelligent and loves advanced technology, although I believe the things he makes are more advanced than the things he buys. He treats me very well and always tries to include Raven and I in the fun things he and Beast Boy do. He also loves his car, although I have no idea why he refers to it synonymously with human offspring."

Ben nodded in understanding. "Sounds like someone I know."

"And lastly is Robin; he is our leader and even though he does not have powers I believe he is the strongest out of all of us. He never hesitates to put his life on the line for us and I have seen him compromise everything about himself just to save one of us. Even when we fail, or if our problems do not affect anyone but ourselves he has always been there for us." Her attention seemed to drift back as she remembered all of the sacrifices and risks Robin took for her alone.

"He sounds like a good leader." Ben said in a quiet voice. "People who put others before themselves are hard to come by."

"You remind me a lot of him." Starfire said happily. "You are both strong willed and passionate. And you have risked a lot to help me Ben."

Ben rubbed his head nervously. "Heh-heh, yeah well I wouldn't call myself a great leader. I mean sure I'm a Majestar, and I've had to make some serious decisions, but I've always seen my Grandpa Max as the real leader." Ben said. "He's a Majestar too, and I learned most of what I know from him. He introduced me to this life after all. And from what you told me about Robin he seems like him in more ways than one."

"Friend Ben?" Asked Starfire. "What are your friends like? Surely you must know a lot of interesting people?"

"A few." He said in deep thought. "The first people I ever fought villainy with were my Grandpa Max and my twin cousin Gwen."

"Twin cousin, I was not aware such a thing was feasible."

Ben chuckled a bit. "We just call ourselves that because we were born on the same day, which is pretty weird."

"Oh I see!" She nearly shouted. "And what is she like? Does she have powers like yours?"

"Um no…kind of the opposite actually. I use advanced technology and she uses ancient magic." He said, not really seeing that way until now. "Our grandmother was an alien, called an Anodite,"

Starfire's eyes widened a bit.

"She came to Earth, met my Grandpa and years later my cousin inherits the ability to manipulate natural energy, called mana. Because of that she can now do magic. Kinda' weird how that turned out." He said putting a hand on his chin. "She and I used to get along about as well as two rabid dogs. We couldn't stand to have anything to do with each other and we fought all of the time. But eventually we learned to get along when we were stuck together on a cross country road trip for three months. Years later we're like brother and sister, I can't really see myself living without her there to guide me when I have my 'Ben moments.'" He said using air quotes.

"Ben moments?" Starfire asked.

"It's her word for whenever I go off and do something unintelligent. Like that time I tried to hack the Omnitrix, which went horribly wrong. My friend Kevin was mutated by the energy feedback."

"I believe Beast boy made a similar error when he downloaded a videogame into Cyborg. He tried to eat a satellite dish that would have disturbed the entire city's electrical system."

"Weird."

"I was quite amusing to see him act so silly though." She laughed at the memory. "And what is this Kevin like?"

"He's like my best friend. He and I had a bit of a troubled past, but we got over it and know he's the team tech nerd…don't tell him I told you that." He laughed. "He acts like one of those big tough guy types, but he's really just as weird as anyone else. You'd be surprised how many times I've seen him faint."

Neither of them was able to suppress laughter now, and the conversation carried on like this for what seemed like hours. Ben told Starfire of his many adventures as a Plumber, and Starfire shared various episodes of her life with Ben, going so far as to tell him about her siblings and her life on Tameran. But it was here that she began to slow her speech and she seemed less upbeat than before. Ben was beginning to realize how easily someone like Starfire, who wore their emotions on their sleeves, seemed to change the atmosphere of the room with their demeanor.

**Two and One half hours before trial:**

"Koriand'r, is something bothering you?" Ben asked.

Starfire looked away at the question and took a deep breath. "Ben…there is something that I…have never told anyone before. Not even my friends." She said, her voice becoming progressively quiet. The once radiant girl dimmed like a fading fire.

"Kory…what do mean?" Ben asked cautiously. The thought of Starfire not sharing something with her friends seemed odd to him.

"I don't know why I…I tried to let it go but it…I do not know if." Her eyes began to tear up.

"Kory, you don't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable."

"I know, I just feel like I should tell _someone_."

"But why me?"

"I do not know, being here, being in this situation, thinking about the past," She turned and looked at him, managing to smile a bit. "Meeting you, and being able to trust you…I cannot hold it in anymore." She said letting a few tears fall.

Ben nodded slowly. "I promise I won't tell anyone, and I won't judge you for it."

"I wish I could believe that part…"

"Really, I promi-"

"Do not promise me yet Ben." She said closing her eyes. "Let me tell you first."

Ben nodded.

"When I was a girl, around ten Earth years in age, I was announced to have exceeded my sister as next in line for the throne. She was born with a birth defect that prevented her from harnessing solar energy and she could not fly for many years. However, since she was still physically powerful she was allowed to train as a warrior with myself and our brother. During a sparring match she…tried to kill me."

Ben's face contorted in shock, his past relationship with Gwen seemed all the more petty.

"She was then banished from our planet, although she did swear to get revenge on our entire race. The revenge came a year later during the climax of the Dark-Sun wars, when she gave valuable information about Tameran's planetary defenses and I was taken prisoner for the first time, captured by The Citadel." She took another deep breath before continuing.

"I…became a slave." She said through a whimper.

Ben looked awestruck, he felt as though he should say something but Starfire held a hand up. Apparently she was not done. With tears still rolling down, and emotion barely contained she continued.

"I was…the labor was horrible. Because of my strength I was made to do nearly impossible tasks, and failure meant hours of torture and terrible beatings." She began to choke on her words now. "And…and…" The emotion seemed to be too much, she held her hands to her head and suppressed a scream.

Ben instinctively reached out and held her closer to him. "Kory, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"_I do have to!" _she cried. _"I have to because it hurts too much!"_ She gripped at his uniform and held him as close as possible, as if she were trying to hide her face.

" _They experimented on me , and they made me…I…" _She now had her face buried into his shoulder. She screamed into him, weeping loudly and heavily. _"I did not even know what was going on! I could not carry it fast enough and I fell, they dragged me away and beat me with rods. I could barely even speak or breath!"_

Ben held his breath in the tight grip, he'd never imagined himself in a situation like this. All he could do was hold her.

"_I passed out, and when I woke up…I was in a room full of other girls…and *Guah!*" _She could barely speak anymore.

"_The men there…some of them were so __**inhuman!**__ I am not even sure if some were __**sentient.**_**"**

Ben felt himself becoming physically sick, he feared he may not even be able to endure the rest of the story. Starfire managed to pull herself from him and sit up on her own again still crying and holding her head.

"I managed to escape, but I had to…let myself be taken." She grunted. "I had to volunteer, because I knew he was a foreigner, and that he had a ship." She took a shaky breath. "S-so, when he turned his back, I-I…I killed him…and stole his ship. I almost made it back to Tameran, but my sister had taken over in my absence. She conveniently used me as a peace offering to the Gordanians, whom my people were fighting." She said with dark finality. "That is what happened right before I came to Earth."

She pulled her legs up to her body and buried her face in her legs. "Do you see now Ben?" She muttered. "Do you see why I could not say this before. I wasn't just some prisoner, I was less than alive. I was nothing, a **Troq**." She hissed through her teeth. "I could never tell my friends such things, what could anyone see in a being the rest of the universe sees as an object of lust and labor?"

They sat in silence for what couldn't have been longer than an hour, but it felt like ages. Neither of them saying a word. When Ben finally worked up the courage to speak, he placed a hand onto Starfire's back, causing her to look up at him.

"Koriand'r, there's no way I could ever understand what you went through. I realize that there is only so much I can say…but I…when I look at you, what I've seen of you. When I think about how much compassion you've shown and how selfless you are," He let a small smile form on his face. "I know we've only known each other for a few days, but I am so proud of you."

"W-what?"

"Dispite everything you've been through, and everything you've been put through. The people that hurt you and the things you had to do to survive. Koriand'r, Starfire, you are a **hero.** You are **the hero.**" He said facing her with both hands on her shoulders. "There are others who lose everything, who try and fail, who have everything taken away from them and they turn their backs on the world. They hold no sympathy and try to hurt others to ease their pain. They're villains and criminals. And the so called heroes who stop them only care about themselves," he said sadly. "Saving people becomes secondary and all that matters to them is the thrill of combat and the luxury of fame. But you're not like either of those types of people."

"I am not sure I understand." Starfire said, slightly nervous that Ben was so close to her, face to face.

"Koriand'r, why do you fight?"

Although surprised by the timing, Starfire always knew her answer to such questions. "I do not want innocents to be harmed. Dispite the faults of every race, no population deserves war and suffering. That is why I was happy to fight with the Titans. But many heroes fight for that purpose."

Ben could not stop the smile on his face from growing. "Koriand'r, the way you talk, the emotion you show, the innocence you've kept. Don't you get it? You have what I don't!"

"A deep secret?" She asked, somewhat confused. By now the tears she'd been shedding were dried against her face and her horse voice was becoming clearer.

"No, a purpose!" He exclaimed. "You don't just do your job, you _care. _It means something to you!"

Starfire seemed confused. "Is that not how all heroes feel?"

"No. That's just it. Some heroes do the 'do the right thing' because they don't like to watch bad things happen. Some only fight because it's right, and they don't want to be pulled into the corruption, and some only fight because they feel like they're too different to be a part of society so they become a protector so no one will fear them. Sure everyone cares to a degree, but that's what you **are**!" He nearly shouted in his own excitement, as he now realized why his Grandfather sent him on this mission with Starfire.

"Ever since you got here you've only thought about how this situation affected everyone else, not you. Your selflessness is…I…" His face reddened with embarrassment as he realized he'd run out of things to say in his excitement. "I'm…just so proud of you. Not **for** you, **of** you. You're incredible." He decided to finish, before he embarrassed himself further.

Starfire stared at him for a few seconds before, she burst into laughter…

Ben felt his face heat up as he feared he might have gotten too excited, until Starfire leaped up and wrapped him in another bone crushing hug. Although Ben was beginning to believe she might be too excited to speak because all she was doing was laughing.

"K-Koriand'r! I can't breathe!"

**One hour before trial:**

Knowing that everything was going to end in a few short minutes, the two heroes did their best to relax until the next half of the trial. Ben was lying down on the cell bed with Starfire lying next to him (Ben had taken off his armor of course and was lying in his black pants and t-shirt). They both stared at the ceiling as though it were a starry sky.

"Friend Ben."

"Yeah?"

"Why does a device such as the Ultimatrix exist?" Asked Starfire turning herself towards him.

"Hm? Well, that's a tough question to answer." Ben said. "But I guess its main purpose is to give the wearer the chance to live the life of a different species. It renews and repairs genetic damage. And-"

"Repairs genetic damage?" Starfire asked excitedly. "Like cancers and tumors? And birth defects?"

"…Um…" Ben sort-of froze at that last question. "I'd…never even considered that…God I'm such an idiot!" He said face palming. "I could have-"

He froze when he felt her hand touch his face. "Ben, you could just do it when you get home, could you not?"

"Heh, um yeah I…I guess. But now I feel like…like…"

"A goof-faart?"

"Some kind of fart." He said chuckling.

Starfire laughed as well, although she did not actually get the joke. "How many creatures can you turn into?" She asked.

Ben put his hand to his chin, pretending to think. "Let me see, how many sentient species are in the Milky Way galaxy again?" He asked. "Cause it's about that much plus five." He smiled deviously.

Starfire's eyes literally looked like stars for a few seconds. "Amazing! I am not even sure I can count that high!"

"Me either actually." He laughed. "And what about you? What kind of powers do you have?"

Starfire sat up half way until she was almost leaning over him. "Oh! Well, like everyone in my race I absorb solar energy to fly!"

"Cool."

"We are taught when we are young that as long as we feel unbridled joy."She said clapping her hands together.

Ben raised his eyebrow a bit. "How do you manage to stay happy during a fight?"

"Not happiness, joy. Happiness is an emotion, it comes and goes. Joy is simply maintaining a positive and optimistic mindset." She said with great pride in her own knowledge. "I can remain this way because I have such a wonderful life!"

"Oh. I guess I never considered that."

"And to fire Starbolts, I must feel righteous fury. If my anger cannot be justified than my power will not work."

"Like if you were hypnotized or something?"

"I suppose." She said quickly. "And to use my strength I must have boundless confidence. I must know I can perform great feats of strength before I do them. That is why, when…"

"Kory, you don't have to say it." Ben said cautiously, trying to keep Starfire from getting upset.

"I know." She said quietly. "I know Ben." She said resting her head on his chest.

They lie in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Ben worked up the courage the courage to ask another question.

"Hey Koriand'r?"

"Yes Ben?"

"You said we could be friends when we get back to Earth right?"

Starfire sat up quickly. "Are we not friends now!" She asked, suddenly fearful of the idea.

"Of course!" he said. "That's not what I meant. I mean," He paused. "What should we do first?" He asked finally.

"Do?"

"Like when we hang out and stuff. What should we do?" He asked.

Starfire gasped in happiness. "We could do the hanging out at the mall! Or see a leg ball game!"

"Foot ball?"

"That too! I cannot wait! We are going to have so much fun!" She exclaimed. By this time she was nearly on top of him, shaking his shoulders in giddiness.

"Yeah, me either." He said smiling at her. He didn't realize he was leaning closer to her until their faces were about an inch apart. Starfire seemed to suddenly calm down as she looked into his nearly equally green eyes. "Kory, I-"

Her lips were on his before he could utter another word. Soon Ben came out of his shock and he found himself kissing her back. He out his hands on her waist and pulled her closer as she positioned herself directly over him.

"Ahem!" went a loud and obviously fake cough. The two teens jumped up at the sound, and turned their attention to the source. Surely enough there was Eunice, tapping her foot impatiently and giving them an annoyed look.

"Oh, um, hey Eunice." Ben said nervously. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Thirty seconds. Approximately." She said in a dead serious voice. "We need to prepare the witnesses Ben."

"Oh um…well let's get on that. Excuse me Koriand'r." He said pulling himself from the bed. As he was leaving he felt her grab his hand and kiss him again on the cheek.

"Goodbye Ben." She said smiling at him. He could help but smile back as he put on his discarded armor and exited the room.

Of course as he stepped out, Eunice was still glaring at him.

"Um, shall we go?" He said scratching the back of his head. She didn't even respond as she began walking out of the room. Ben followed behind closely. As they stepped into the hallway, she suddenly turned around and grabbed his collar, pinning him against the wall.

"What the, Eunice what are-?"

"What the heck was _that _Ben?" She asked through her teeth. "Do you realize what you've just done?"

"What? What'd I do?"

"If anyone else had seen what you were doing this whole case would be over."

"Wha-"

"Do you realize how insane these politicians are? They will exploit everything she does Ben, especially that. That could have cost us everything!" She said throwing him to the side, not violently, but he did stumble. She placed her hands over her face and grunted loudly. "I can only do so much to help Ben, but you aren't helping like this."

She threw her arms down in frustration and Ben could see she was much more tired than angry. "Eunice I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to go like that. I mean, I just wanted to protect her, but then we started talking and-." She held her hand up to his face.

"I get it, okay." She said with a huff. "You really like her and stuff, but we need to focus alright?"

He nodded. "Alright."

"Okay." They began walking again and heading for the lobby. "I managed to clear things up with the authorities and the incident with Vinter. Apparently it's being redirected as an attack on you specifically."

"But we know his goal was Koriand'r." Ben said with a frown. "How could they turn it around so quickly?"

"Politics Ben, none of these jerks wanted any sympathy for Koriand'r on this case, which is why it won't be brought up in this trial."

Ben growled through his teeth. "Jackasses."

"On a good note, we have three sound and cooperative witnesses for this little escapade." She said as they approached the door to the waiting room.

"Who?"

The door opened. "See for yourself."

**Ten minutes before trial:**

In the security chamber four guards lie sleeping in their chairs, their eyes rolled back into their heads, at the security monitor a cloaked white figure stood at a screen, replaying the sickening scene over and over, making sure he had a recording. Cocytus felt himself wretch at the sight of the Tameranian harlot throwing herself on the so called hero of the Universe.

"No matter who wins," He said to himself, pulling a computer chip from the dash board. "you lose Koriand'r."

**A/N: I'm such a jerk.**

**And I'm totally new to writing this kind of fluff. Seriously I'm not sure if that's the deepest or corniest thing I've ever written. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please look forward to reading the next chapter.**

**Sadly, there was no fighting. On a good note, we're that much closer to the epic fight featuring Ben's Tameranian form.**

**Woo!**


End file.
